Sport | Motorsport
Al Attiyah aims to continue rewriting motor-sport history
Racer hopes to dominate Qatar International Rally next month
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:00 January 19, 2011
- Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah celebrates during the final ceremony of celebration of the Dakar Rally 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sunday.
- Image Credit: EPA
Doha: Fresh from achieving the greatest sporting victory for an Arab in history, Dakar Rally-winning Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will be aiming to add to his own piece of motor sporting history when he tackles next month's Qatar International Rally, the opening round of the 2011 FIA Middle East Rally Championship (Merc), on February 3 to 5.
Al Attiyah became the first Arab to win the 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile in South America last weekend and now the Qatari will be hoping to clinch an unprecedented ninth successive victory in the Qatar International Rally.
Congratulations
Nasser Khalifa Al Attiyah, the President of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) was one of the first to congratulate Al Attiyah on his superb achievement.
"On behalf of everyone at the QMMF I congratulate Nasser on this superb achievement. He has made everyone in Qatar proud and we are delighted that he has fulfilled one of his goals," he said.
"I knew that the big Dakar special stage into Córdoba two days from the end was the most important of my life," said a delighted Al Attiyah.
"I was not going to take any risks. I had a dream when I was very young that I would win the Dakar.
"Even at the start in Buenos Aires on New Year's Day I felt relaxed and comfortable. I cannot describe what it feels like to win this event. I was so close last year and I was leading the year before, but this is something very special. This is the biggest moment in my career."
Al Attiyah has won the regional rally title six times in the last eight seasons and has amassed 38 victories in rounds of the championship.
"The Qatar Rally is also special for me. It is a fantastic feeling to win your home event and it is important that I manage to make a good start to the new season," he said.
Partners
Al Attiyah's eight Qatar victories have been earned with four different co-drivers. England's Steve Lancaster partnered the Qatari to his first success in a Subaru Impreza World Rally Car in 2003 and Ulsterman Chris Patterson came on board for the candidate event in 2004.
That triumph marked the first of five successes with Patterson, as the pair dominated the Qatari's home rally in various evolutions of the Group N Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
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Al Attiyah aims to continue rewriting history
Racer hopes to dominate Qatar International Rally next month
