By Agencies/Doha
The globetrotting squad of rally-raid hotshots that form the Red Bull Desert Wings team are getting ready to roll in Qatar. Multiple Dakar champions Marc Coma and Nasser al-Attiyah are joined by up and coming talents such as Mohamed Abu Issa as the Desert Wings look to take a triple crown of victories across the bike, car and quad races at the Sealine Cross-Country Rally.
Red Bull KTM Factory Team captain Coma got his quest for a seventh FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship off to the perfect start with victory at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge earlier in the month. The five-time Dakar winner will be out to increase his lead in the championship by earning maximum points at the Sealine Rally in Qatar.
Coma is joined by talented teammates in the shape of Jordi Viladoms, Sam Sunderland, Matthias Walkner and Ruben Faria. Sand racing specialist Sunderland finished runner-up to Coma in Abu Dhabi and will be aiming to go one better than second place this time around. Also onboard KTM machinery in Qatar will be Mohammed Balooshi who remains hopeful that a successful season will see him back at the Dakar next year.
Any biker hoping to win big in Qatar will have the difficult job of outpacing reigning champ Joan ‘Bang Bang’ Barreda. The Team HRC rider had some rotten luck with mechanical problems at the Dakar and also in Abu Dhabi so expect him to be making up for lost time in Qatar.
Bouncing back in fine style from a disappointing Dakar to win the quad race in Abu Dhabi was Mohamed Abu Issa. The Qatari won on home soil 12 months ago and is out to give the local crowd plenty to cheer about once again.
Another local favourite hoping to win big is Nasser al-Attiyah, the Qatar Rally Team driver has not only helped put his country on the map by winning two editions of the Dakar but also picked up an Olympic bronze medal for skeet shooting in London. Nasser and co-driver Mathieu Baumel are the current Sealine Rally car class champions and are looking like the guys to beat in 2015. This trip to Qatar follows a string of remarkable wins for the pair this year at the Dakar and WRC2 as well as in the Middle East Rally Championship.
Further Red Bull-backed crews in the car race include two Polish duos – Marek Dabrowski/Jacek Czachor and Adam Malysz/Rafal Marton – with both Orlen Team pairs optimistic of improving on solid top 10 finishes in Abu Dhabi. For Malysz and Marton the Sealine is just their second outing at the controls of a Mini so they’ll be focused on getting to know their new ride even better than before.
A gruelling 1,750km of racing over rocky, rugged and sandy terrain awaits the Red Bull Desert Wings as the Sealine Rally gets underway on Monday, April 20.
Five-time Dakar champion Marc Coma
