Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) was crowned champion of the Saudi Dakar Rally 2022 at the conclusion of the final 12th stage yesterday in Jeddah, surpassing Frenchman Sébastien Loeb (Prodrive) by 27 minutes and 46 seconds, with Yazeed Al-Rajhi in third place, trailing by one hour and one minute and 13 seconds.
Al-Attiyah (51 years old) succeeded in winning two stages during the rally, in addition to the preliminary stage, and none of his key rivals, veteran Stéphane Peterhansel or Spanish Carlos Sainz, managed to pose any threat to his lead. This victory marks his fourth overall win, following his triumphs in 2011, 2015, and 2019.
Al-Attiyah now equals the number of titles in the Dakar Rally with Finnish Ari Vatanen, although he remains far from the record held by Peterhansel, who has eight titles.
In the motorcycle category, British rider Sam Sunderland (KTM) secured his second Dakar title after winning his first in 2017, finishing ahead of Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) and Austrian Matthias Walkner (KTM).
