their relationship Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz it’s weird. Their greatest rivals on the track, with many pitfalls in their career, but at the same time, when they get out of the car and meet at some event, they always tend to talk and smile. Carlos discussed this a few days ago Madrid. What he is referring to is the duality of the Qatari personality, a “nice uncle” but “when he puts on his helmet, his anger disappears a bit,” he said. His crosses of Dakar post-Dakar declarations are now commonplace. Within Dakar 2020, Nasser complained about the superiority of Mini from Carlos by having larger wheels and longer suspension travel. Last year, when Sainz started his Audi project, he complained that the Spaniard’s car was automatic and had full power from its electric motors from the moment he stepped on the accelerator. To this must be added the controversy over the wrong ‘way point’ in stage 1B last year. Some said this was false, and Nasser denied it and pointed out that he and his co-pilot were “the best.” And with the start of Dakar 2023, the dispute is repeated, but this time, with obvious indifference from Nasser about the choices of Carlos Sainz and Audi coping with success.
MD found the Qatari cycling through the Yanbu bivouac, a day before the start of the world’s toughest prologue stage event. Nasser did not refuse the offer to chat for a few minutes, he wanted it make it very clear that his “maximum rival” for the Dakar 2023 victory is “Loeb, not Sainz”. The psychological battle started a few days ago.
How was your day before this adventure? Roots?
No, no, not really! Everything is fine. I’m ready! The day before the adventure is always good. And this time, for the first time we have a previous bivouac in the desert, facing the sea. We had so much fun here and it was so beautiful. I love this environment.
How do you see this Dakar for you with more sand and sand?
I don’t know, we still don’t know if there will be a lot of sand or not, but the Dakar is the Dakar and we will try to do our best. We have a car that is almost the same as last year, a little different, but this year it won’t be easy for anyone. I think there are many choices and many good drivers can win. It is very open.
Are you worried about the speed of Audis, like Sainz’s, on sandy stages because they have maximum power when you press the accelerator pedal?
I don’t know… see you in a week. I believe that regulation can be fair for everyone.
Are you looking forward to going head-to-head against Carlos Sainz?
I think the big battle will be between Sébastien (Loeb) and myself.
Want to join Sainz in battle?
Hell yeah, of course. Carlos has good options, you know, but I don’t think it will be easy for Audi.
A battle between Loeb, Sainz and you would be awesome, right?
Sure, but there was also Peterhansel and many other drivers. We will see. It’s still very hard to say.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
