NASSER AL-ATTIYAH JOINS DACIA’S RALLY-RAID TEAM

Itumeleng Garebatshabe
By Itumeleng Garebatshabe 466 Views 2 Min Read
2 Min Read
  • Five-time winner of the Dakar Rally, Nasser al-Attiyah, is joining the Dacia rally-raid team as an official driver.
  • He will officially race with the brand from the test phases in 2024, before lining up for the Dakar and the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) from 2025, alongside Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero.

Today, Dacia officially welcomes Nasser Al-Attiyah to its rally-raid team. Nasser, aged 52,is a two-time FIA World Rally Champion in WRC-2 and also a 19-time winner of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship between 2003 and 2015. He is a frequent competitor in rally, rally-raid and circuit events. His record in rally-raiding is second to none. In particular, he is five-time winner of the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies and two-time winner of the World Rally-Raid Championship.

In the Dakar event, Nasser is something of a legend. In 2010, he finished second place, 2 minutes and 12 seconds behind Carlos Sainz.  In 2011, he won his first Dakar, ahead of Giniel de Villiers and Carlos Sainz.

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He then went on to win the Dakar again in 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023, with co-driver Mathieu Baumel, who will also be at his side on the Dacia team. Aged 47, Mathieu is one of France’s most successful co-drivers, with 4 victories in the Dakar and 12 World Championship titles (two in rally-raiding, 1 in WRC2 and 9 in the MERC).

Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel will be the third crew lining up with Team Dacia for its rally-raid adventures, alongside Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin as well as Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero and Pablo Moreno Huete.

From 2024, the three crews will test athe brand’s prototype running on synthetic fuel, on the tracks of the Morocco Rally. Their shared goal is to win the Dakar!

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Itumeleng is the Managing Editor of The Auto Magazine. He is a tech and car enthusiast