Al-Attiyah collects his award as the first FIA world raid champion

2022 will mark a milestone in the history of the rally raid discipline. For the first time in its history, cars FIA and the motorcycles FIM known by a common name and program, the new World Cup Rally-Raid (W2RC). The promotion of the championship is entrusted to the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO). Within the FIA, the W2RC joins F1, FE, WEC, WRC, WRX and Karting, bringing the number of top disciplines in international motorsports to seven.

For the competitors of the world rally raid championship, the three new world champion titles are decided at the end of the season consisting of four rounds, inaugurated in an unprecedented way in Dakar 2022. Quite a challenge for Nasser Al-Attiyah, who has five world cups to his credit and is the current champion. After the laurels reaped in 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021 and an epic rivalry against Sebastien Loebfinally and for the first time, became the FIA ​​​​World Rally-Raid Champion and this Friday he collected his award at the FIA ​​​​awards ceremony held on Bologna (Italy). Like motorcycle racer Sam Sunderland, Nasser Al Attiyah won the most prestigious double of 2022: Dakar victory and W2RC world champion title.

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The world champion pilot has his co-pilot by his side Mathieu Baumelwhere he has shared four world cup victories since 2015 and became the first world champion co-driver in FIA rally raid.

Rewarded with a second place finish on the final podium, Sebastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin The Frenchman is close to achieving his tenth FIA world crown, after his nine titles in

WRC. Just one point ahead of the eventual world champions in the first half of the season, the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team was left out of the Rallye du Maroc and will fail to close the gap on Toyota despite their victory in the Andalucía Rally final. They finished with a difference of 20 points (169 vs. 149 points).

Toyota, brand champion

All the while, behind this head-to-head was the Overdrive Racing pick-up of Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk Von Zitzewitz, who ended up on the podium.

The Saudi, twice third in the world cup (2014 and 2016) and another three times on the podium (4th in 2019 and 2021), climbed to his first podium in the world championship, a few days after winning the world cup world of casualties Their results, added to those of hilux world champion lets toyota gazoo racing became the first manufacturers’ world champion with a total of 163 points to 135 points for Team BRX’s Hunter.

In Dakar 2023, with the highest ambition

A Al-Attiyah, Baumel and Toyota Gazoo Racing they have three weeks left to fully savor their title of world champions. The 2023 W2RC season begins on December 31 with the prologue to the 45th edition of the Dakar, again the first round of the championship before moving to the veteran Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the Sonora Rally (Mexico) and Ruta 40 (Argentina ), new to world calendar, which will conclude with the traditional final round of the Rallye du Maroc.

David Castera (ASO)

“We are very happy and proud to witness the birth this year of the first FIA rally raid world champion titles, which allowed our sport to be given great visibility. The first season of W2RC offered the opportunity to harmonize the regulation and successfully improve safety, thereby providing great support to the discipline. ASO will continue to promote the rally raid in the coming years. Starting in 2023, new events will be created to strengthen its internationalization. The draft is being written a new history of the rally raid.”

Glyn Hall (Toyota Gazoo Racing)

“It’s hard to imagine a more brilliant year. First, we won the Dakar with a car that debuted with the new regulations, in addition to reaping three stage victories. Then, we won the championship against Sébastien Loeb, statistically the best rally driver of all time. Finally we take the title of world champion for manufacturers thanks to the contribution of Yazeed Al Rajhi. We only spent six days in Namibia to prepare to in the 2023 season and I can expect that we will go to the Dakar even stronger. To develop the car, we pushed the limits that we can reach now.”

Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota)

“It is a really strange feeling to receive my first world championship title; Mathieu and I have been waiting for this for a long time. We have won many races together in the past years and this season, when we started in a Dakar victory, Before the continuous turning of the tables against Seb (Loeb), it was really amazing and I was very happy.”