Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah Strengthens His Lead in Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

Abu Dhabi, November 08 (QNA) - Qatari driver Nasser bin Saleh Al Attiyah strengthened his lead for the 30th edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Rally, the fifth and penultimate round of the 2021 World Cup for Cross Country Rally Championship, which will continue until next Thursday, after winning the second stage title. Partnered by Mathieu Baumel in a Toyota Hilux, Al Attiyah won the second stage, which has a distance of (333.43) km, recording a time of 4:33:09 hours, Polish Jakub Przygonski, accompanied by his German navigator Timo Gottschalk, came in second place with a time of 4:36:16 hours, and the third place was taken by the Argentinian driver Lucio Alvarez, accompanied by his Spanish navigator Armand Monleon, clocked a time of 4.42.51 hours, and the Saudi driver Yazid Al Rajhi and his British navigator Michael Orr came in fourth with a time of 4.50.52 hours. Al Attiyah leads the overall standings after the second stage with a total time of 7.55.16 hours, followed by the Polish Jakub Przygonski with a time of 8.01.23 hours, and the Argentinian Lucio Alvarez, came third with a time of 8.12.09 hours. The third stage will be held Tuesday with a distance of 293 km. Al Attiyah said: "the competition was strong, and the track was difficult and needed focus and a person with full experience in navigation, and I thank navigator Mathieu Baumel who made a great effort, we did our duty and widened the difference between us and the closest competitors, and this gives us great comfort". (QNA)