Agencies
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel set the fastest time in their Toyota Hilux to top Stage 1 (Dos Hermanas- Dos Hermanas) of Andalucia Rally 2022 yesterday.
It was a superb comeback for the four-time Dakar Rally champion Attiyah whose World Rally-Raid Championship title hopes had suffered a mini blow on Wednesday after the Qatari was handed down a one-minute penalty for speeding, pushing him down to eighth place in both the stage and the general standings in the prologue stage.
Attiyah holds a 22-point advantage over Sebastien Loeb, who won the prologue round for Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX).
However, it was a fierce test for Loeb yesterday as he fought to boost the title ambitions.
The Frenchman faced power steering issues on the rally’s first long selective section in the BRX Prodrive Hunter.
Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin finished the day in third position, 11 mins 16 secs behind Al Attiyah.
The nine-time World Rally Champion must now call on all his experience and sheer driving skills over the next three stages to pick up bonus points in an effort to wipe out Attiyah’s advantage before the finish on Sunday.
With Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi moving into second place in another Toyota Hilux, Guerlain Chicherit, winner of the penultimate round in Morocco earlier this month in another Prodrive Hunter, finished the day in fourth position behind Loeb and Dutchman Eric Van Loon.
Nine-time World Rally champion Loeb picked the No.1 starting position on the stage as he looked to extend his advantage over Al Attiyah.
After collecting a one minute penalty on the opening leg for speeding in a neutralised zone, the Qatari began the day’s stage down in 11th place, behind a succession of slower cars on a route where overtaking is hazardous.
In sharp contrast to the Moroccan desert conditions at the previous round, the 319 km stage unfolded over fast tracks in the midst of Andalucia’s olive groves and wheat fields.
Loeb’s power steering problems saw him drop six-and-a-half minutes inside the first 34-kms as Al Attiyah swept into the lead, and the WRC legend initially dropped to 13th position.