By authoritatively wining the day’s stage, Nasser Al Attiyah has written the first line on Dacia’s roll of honour on the Dakar. It is not the first time in the W2RC, because the Sandrider already celebrated its first victory on stage 1 at the Rallye du Maroc in 2024. For its first competitive steps, the brand new 4x4 contested the season’s finale, which Nasser completed by obtaining his 3rd world champion’s title. In personal terms on the Dakar, it is the Qatari’s 48th victory, bringing him to within one success of the record of 50 stage wins held by Peterhansel and Vatanen. In the W2RC, it is the 41st victory achieved by Al Attiyah in the competition created in 2022. Out of 114 days of racing, it brings the Qatari’s proportion of wins on the championship to 36%. With an average of 13 victories per season, the official Dacia driver could reach 50 W2RC successes in 2025. The Sandrider’s 2 successes could also soon be multiplied thanks to the efforts of Sébastien Loeb, who is second in the ranks of stage win hunters in the W2RC with 20 victories under his belt. The Frenchman will be making his return in late February at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge alongside Nasser Al Attiyah.
