Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and his Toyota Gazoo Racing co-driver Mathieu Baumel remained in contention for their second consecutive FIA World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) title by extending their overall lead with third win at the Rally Argentina (Desafio Ruta 40) on Wednesday.The five-time Dakar Rally champion, al-Attiyah on Wednesday finished the 464 kilometre third stage (196km road/268km Special) at Belen 2:54:53.Al-Attiyah’s arch-rival Yazeed al-Rajhi of Saudi Arabia came second on Wednesday, finishing 1 minute and 41 seconds behind the Qatari to slightly cut down the time between him and Argentinian Juan Cruz Yacopini in the general standings.In the overall standings, al-Attiyah has an advantage of 10’28’’ over Yacopini and his co-driver Dani Oliveras, who came third on Wednesday. The Argentinian is a legitimate contender for the final podium, which would be his first in a W2RC round, after two near-misses in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (fourth) and the Sonora Rally (fifth). Al-Rajhi is 18’12’’ behind the Qatari race leader.The event is the penultimate round of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC), won by al-Attiyah in its inaugural edition in 2022.Al-Attiyah currently leads the W2RC standings with 144 points after winning the Dakar and Sonora rallies earlier this season.
August 31, 2023 | 12:10 AM