Baradero, Argentina | AFP
Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah clinched his second Dakar Rally car title on Saturday to give British marque Mini their fourth consecutive success in the gruelling 9,000 kilometre event.
Al-Attiyah, who won his first Dakar in 2011, became only the seventh multiple winner in the car category.
In overall second came South African Giniel de Villiers in a Toyota and the winner in 2009. Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc in another Mini took third.
He assured himself of the 2015 crown with sixth in Saturday’s 13th stage from Rosario to Bardero north of Buenos Aires which was shortened to only 34 kilometres due to heavy rain.
Robby Gordon came out on top in the curtailed closing stage, the American crossing the line over half a minute clear of Leeroy Poulter. Argentina’s Emiliano Spataro crossed in third.
The 44-year-old veteran Al-Attiyah, who has also enjoyed success in the Olympic Games, winning bronze in skeet shooting at the 2012 Games in London, dominated the 2015 Dakar from start to finish.
He set down his marker for the title when posting the quickest time in the opening stage leaving Buenos Aires a fortnight ago.
He was subsequently stripped of the first stage for speeding, but did not let that hiccup distract him as he bounced back to take the second stage, and ended with five stage wins in all.
He drove masterfully, assisted by co-driver Matthieu Baumel of France, with all the Dakar could throw at him, from crossing the Andes to coping with Chile’s Atacama desert to Bolivia’s salt flats.
Al-Attiyah lined up for his first Dakar in 2004, taking second place in 2010 and third last year.
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Results 2015 Dakar Rally:
01 Al-Attiyah/Baumel – MINI ALL4 Racing – 40:32:25h
02 De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz – 41:07:59h
03 Holowczyc/Panseri – MINI ALL4 Racing – 42:04:26h
04 Van Loon/Rosegaar – MINI ALL4 Racing – 43:34:17h
05 Vasilyev/Zhiltsov – MINI ALL4 Racing – 43:45:06h
09 Rakhimbayev/Nikolaev – MINI ALL4 Racing – 44:41:09h
12 Garafulic/Palmeiro – MINI ALL4 Racing – 46:00:34h
13 Zhou/Schulz – MINI ALL4 Racing – 46:07:49h
17 Terranova/Graue – MINI ALL4 Racing – 47:39:19h
21 Schott/Schmidt – MINI ALL4 Racing – 49:51:23h
