Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah drives his Prodrive Hunter during the ceremonial start of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah yesterday topped the Prologue Stage to take lead at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge which got underway yesterday.
The event serves as the second round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) 2024.
The Qatar rally superstar, accompanied by his French navigator Edouard Boulanger on the Hunter Prodrive car (Nasser Racing Team) covered the five km opening stage around the Al Dhannah City in a time of 3:02 minutes, ahead of the Belgian Guillaume De Mevius and his French navigator.
Al Attiyah said the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is a great opportunity for him to make amends after struggling in the Dakar Rally. He said he is facing a great challenge with his new team but he expressed his confidence in returning to winning ways.
The 53-year-old has five Dakar Rally and 18 Middle East Rally Championship titles to his credit.
Meanwhile, the racers will take part in the first stage stretching 374 km long, with a 248 km special stage and a 126 km link stage today.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge includes five stages, preceded by a qualifying (exhibition) stage. This year’s tracks are new tracks, as the Abu Dhabi Rally returns to Al Muzaira’a after 22 years.
The W2RC Championship will be held this season in five rounds: the 2024 Dakar Rally, which ended last month, and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. After that, the championship heads to Europe, where the Rally Transibérico will be held in Portugal, which will also include stages in Spain.
