Nasser Al-Attiyah Aims for Sixth Dakar Rally Title

The Qatari rally driver and Olympian faces a new challenge with a 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter and a switch from Toyota to Prodrive.

Nasser Al-Attiyah, a Qatari rally driver and Olympian, is seeking his sixth title and third consecutive win in the Dakar Rally, which begins on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
For the first time, the rally includes a 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see.
Al-Attiyah and his co-driver Mathieu Baumel have switched from Toyota to Prodrive, aiming to become the first to win the Dakar with four different constructors.
Al-Attiyah's main rival is France's nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, who has finished runner-up for the past two years and is also driving a Prodrive for his BRX Team.
The 46th edition of the rally, held in Saudi Arabia for the fifth time, features a prologue and 12 stages spread out over 7,891km from Alula in the north to Yanbu on the Red Sea.