“The idea is to help Seb win the Dakar. I will do everything for him to win. We are a team,” He said Nasser Al-Attiyah before the rest day of the Dakar, after bidding farewell to the fight to retain his Dakar title by breaking a steering bearing in the second part of the marathon stage. Their goal is to carry out group tasks and think about scoring points for W2RC World Rally-Raid title (The Dakar is the first marking event of the year). However, in stage 7 his Hunter’s engine broke down. He came to the road leading to the bivouac. For stage 8 he used a ‘joker’ which allowed him to rejoin the race with a huge penalty. And on stage 8, his machine crashed again.
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to get in this car again. You know, I already decided, I just came to tell you, and I’m going home tonight,” Nasser said on the race’s official television, when asked if he would start stage 8. “This year, for the Dakar, I learned something, you know… in my life and, yes, it won’t happen again.” this,” he added.
He decides to leave to find the Olympic ticket
The driver’s entourage reminded MD that Nasser wanted to continue after the 48-hour period to “score points for the World Championship and to help Loeb,” but with so many problems with the car, it was impossible for the Qatari. function.squire because he cannot roll on his side. According to those around him, with the failures he suffered on Tuesday, he would have started stage 10 this Wednesday too late, with Loeb opening the track, and he couldn’t help him either, so there was no point in continuing with a car that broken many times. .
The fact is that these days the Asian clay pigeon shooting championship is being held, where specialists in this sport are playing to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Nasser, considering it pointless to continue, decided to go. for his other dream: return to the Games to get another medal.
Nasser Al-Attiyah has participated in the Olympic Games in clay pigeon or skeet shooting on several occasions. He competed in the Games in Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, where he lost a medal in a tiebreaker, and in London 2012, where he won a bronze medal.
Very angry and demanding explanations from the team
According to ‘Marca’ from the camp, Nasser Al-Attiyah only wants to make statements on the official Dakar television and on L’Équipe, something strange for the Qatari who makes clear his discomfort, because always he attends any media and at any time with your help, always with a smile.
“We had an engine problem. It stopped suddenly, made a huge noise and we stopped immediately”, he commented. And he focused directly on the team prodriveWherein Nasser Al-Attiyah will continue from next year in the project DACIAagain with Sebastien Loeb and with the Spanish Cristina Gutierrez as the third member.
“I need to know why it’s happening in one car and not the other. I understand it’s part of racing, but something isn’t working the way we need it to. We’re two good drivers and we need to help each other one”he explained Al-Attiyahwho did not find in the Hunter a reliable car with which to defend his crown and achieve his sixth title, which would have followed his third consecutive victory in the overall Dakar.
Loeb’s reaction
In its part, Sebastien Loeb He was surprised to hear the news. “Again? Mine looks fine.”, said the Frenchman when he learned about Nasser’s engine problems. Then, without wanting to criticize his future partner, he made it known that he was not happy with his decision to leave him alone to fight for the Dakar, without relying on the help of a partner who acted as a squire, helping him to navigate or allows you to save time in case you get a puncture or need to repair any part of the race car.
“That’s life. What can I say?”he said with a nervous smile. “Of course, I would prefer to have another car close to me, especially in the next two days, when we reach a long area with a lot of rocks, so we know that it will be part of the game. But if he I’m going home I’m going to try to do it myself and I’m going to try to avoid holes,” It targeted Spanish media relocated to Saudi Arabia.
Loeb and Al-Attiyah will continue as companions in DACIA. Undoubtedly, this is not the best way to start their story together in the same structure. Nasser will talk to the team to clarify what happened to face the next edition of the Dakar with more options to win the title and, above all, without too many problems.
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.
