Dakar Rally: sharp-shooting Olympian al-Attiyah takes aim at sixth title on eve of 4,900-mile odyssey
- Motorsport marathon starts in Saudi Arabia on Friday, with 425 cars, bikes, quads and trucks racing to Yanbu
- 53-year-old Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah won bronze at 2012 London Olympics, and took home two medals at Asian Games in Hangzhou last year
The Dakar Rally roars into life on Friday in Saudi Arabia with Nasser al-Attiyah seeking a sixth title and third in a row in the mythic motorsport marathon.
A 425-strong colourful caravanserai made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks sets out from Al-Ula on a treacherous 4,900-mile odyssey around the Gulf kingdom with a January 19 finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea.
For the first time, this year’s route includes a 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see.
Al-Attiyah is adept at multitasking – juggling the sand dunes of Saudi with his other passion, skeet shooting.
The 53-year-old from Qatar took bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, and in September added two medals at the Asian Games to the shooting golds he collected in 2002 and 2010.
He now puts his preparations for his seventh Olympics in Paris in July to one side to try to become only the third driver to win three successive Dakars.
