MOTORSPORT
pilots Hilux to second
N
asser Al-Attiyah retained his crown in the 2023 Dakar, piloting his Toyota DKR Hilux to victory in a di rabia to ta e his fifth victor in the bl e riband off road rall Co-driven by Mathieu Baumel, the Qatari superstar took the lead early in the event and, despite winning only three stages to runner-up Sebastien Loeb’s seven, soon opened p a lead of more than an ho r which he held to the end As always with the Dakar, the res lts onl tell part of the stor Al-Attiyah’s victory came against a dramatic bac drop of crashes and breakdowns which proved that even the world’s best drivers aren’t imm ne to misfort ne s has become something of a a ar tradition this th r nning of the event ic ed off with a seafront prolog e eld on the ed ea coast near Yanbu, this saw Sweden’s Mattias str m draw first blood in his di tho gh of co rse no one was e pecting a short sprint of st a few miles to provide m ch indication of where the title might be heading in two wee s’ time t was a promising start for di nonetheless, as the German giant loo ed to improve on the fo r stage wins it racked up last year in the RS e tron’s a ar deb t str m’s team mates Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz came in third and si th respectivel
4x4 7pp Scene Dakar Mar 23.indd 15
MARCH 2023 | 15
13/02/2023 23:25
