Rally Raid
See Nasser Al-Attiyah set the pace in his homeland alongside a host of other Dakar Rally contenders.
There were significant moves made at the top of both the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship and FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup this week in Qatar. With plenty of precious championship points up for grabs, we saw a masterclass on the dunes from the Red Bull Desert Wings squad, who collected wins in the bike, quad and car categories of the Sealine Rally.
Local fans had plenty to celebrate in the car race as Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah and French co-driver Mathieu Baumel won in emphatic style at the controls of a Toyota Hilux. The defending Cross Country Rally World Cup champions have now got the new season off to perfect start by following up their win in Abu Dhabi earlier in the month with this victory in Qatar.
See Nasser Al-Attiyah cruising over the dunes in the clip below.
It’s always a great feeling to win in front of your fans. We get great support wherever we race in the world, but to race in your own country is always a very special feeling.
When reigning Dakar Rally champion Toby Price of Australia was forced to retire following stage two of the five stage contest, it left the door open for fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Team member Sam Sunderland to take the top honours in the bike race. British rider Sunderland held off the threat from Pablo Quintanilla of Chile and Portugal's Hélder Rodrigues to record the win.
Watch action from the bikes and quads at the Sealine Rally below.
This race is brutal and anything can happen. It’s really physical and if you hit one stone it’s the end of your day.
In the quad contest, Chile's Ignacio Casale used three consecutive stage wins at the start of the week as a springboard to secure the overall win. Although focused on the win, Casale still took time to stop and assist Mohammed Balooshi when he saw the UAE biker had suffered a crash.