Abu Dhabi Desert Rally: Qatar's Al Attiyah Hopes to Compensate Loss in First Stage

Abu Dhabi, March 06 (QNA) - Qatar's four-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah will hope to rejuvenate his campaign after loss in the first stage of Abu Dhabi Desert Rally due to technical snag in his car. Al Attiyah was forced to stop after a few kilometers from the start of the first stage as a result of the damage to his front wheel after a huge jump over the dunes. Al Attiyah had to go with his French assistant, Mathieu Baumel, to his teams maintenance point to fix the malfunction that hit his car. Prior to the event in the UAE, Al Attiyah expressed his happiness with the preparatory tests conducted on the car by his team, Overdrive Racing and confirmed his readiness for the challenge in the rally in which he will face a number of opponents he met during the Dakar Rally. Al Attiyah, who is competing in a Toyota Hilux, leads the World Championship standings by one point from nine-times World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, who is making his debut in the UAE along with Yazeed Al Rajhi, Jakub Przygonski, Mathieu Serradori, Sebastian Halpern and Denis Krotov. It is noteworthy that the first stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Rally today was won by Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel in an Audi, which is the first time that a hybrid car has taken the lead in an international rally, Saudi Yazid Al Rajhi took second place in a Toyota Hilux while Czech Martin Prokop is third on board the Ford Raptor. (QNA)