ABU DHABI (UAE): Overdrive Racing’s Nasser Al Attiyah moved to within touching distance of the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies Drivers’ Championship with a dominant third career victory at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on Thursday.
Partnered by Frenchman Matthieu Baumel, the Qatari won the first four of the five selective sections through the UAE’s Empty Quarter and was able to ease his pace on the final timed test to confirm victory by the margin of 21min 12sec in his Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux.
Overdrive Racing team-mate Lucio Alvarez won the final stage and kept his slim title hopes alive with a fine second overall alongside Spanish navigator Armand Monleón.
Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Ulster co-driver Michael Orr had hoped to be battling it out for the championship, but a drive shaft breakage cost them dearly and Al-Rajhi fought back to finish in fourth place behind Russia’s Denis Krotov.
Dutchman Erik van Loon and French co-driver Sebastien Delaunay crewed Toyota’s latest Hilux T1+ Ultimate for the second time after a successful debut in Morocco last month. The car again set some competitive times and the Dutchman was the fastest of all the 2022 specification vehicles on the final stage.
Cristina Gutierrez, partnered by French co-driver François Cazalet, secured the 2021 FIA T3 Drivers’ Championship with second place in the category in a Red Bull-backed Overdrive OT3. The Spanish girl began the event 11.5 points in front of Fernando Alvarez and managed to increase the advantage over her fellow countryman, who finished third in Abu Dhabi. When the dropped score rule comes into play, Gutierrez cannot be beaten by Alvarez regardless of the outcome of the final round next month.
