KINGS OF THE DESERT

From scarily fast electric Audis to nail-biting finishes and everything in between, Dipayan Dutta tells you everything that happened at the 2022 Dakar rally

- Dipayan Dutta

Nasser Al-Attiyah will go down as one of the greatest of all time of the prestigious but grueling Dakar rally, with a dominant win in his Toyota Hilux T1+ at the 2022 edition of the event held in the Middle East. His fourth win at the rally puts him alongside Ari Vatanen for success in Dakar's car category, only second to Stéphane Peterhansel's eight wins. After a couple of misses over the last couple of years, Al-Attiyah reminded us all why he earned the title of Prince of the Desert” back when the Dakar was being held in South America. Right from Stage 1, the Qatari made his intentions clear seizing the lead in the first two specials. A lead that he did not once relinquish despite winning only two of the twelve stages at the 2022 Dakar Rally. The first two stages were crucial for the multiple time car category champion, where he along with his navigator Mathieu Baumel were able to avoid a tricky waypoint that had caught out some of the big names in contention, including Carlos Sainz Sr and Mr. Dakar Stephane Peterhansel himself in the scarily fast Audi RS Q e-trons.

AL-ATTIYAH REIGNS SUPREME