“Missing the last Dakar was quite painful for me”
CREW FACTS…
A.A.K.
- In the Al Kuwari family, the three brothers are motorsports fanatics and regulars on the Middle-East and even world scene in traditional rallying and offroad races. Ahmed is the youngest while his eldest brother Nasser has 7 MERC titles as a co-driver and other sibling Abdulaziz recently conquered his first ever FIA Middle-East Rally Championship title as a driver.
- Ahmed actually started competing on a motorbike before he later switched to the SSV class to discover cross-country events. He was also part of the Qatar shooting team from 2005 to 2015, like Nasser Al Attiyah.
- He appeared on the Dakar for the first time in 2019 in a Yamaha SSV he shared with Italy’s Angelo Montico. Sadly, that experience finished after nine stages. It took him three attempts to finally reach the finish in 2022 (32nd) with his brother Nasser at his side.
- This season, Ahmed was able to prepare in style, competing at the Rallye du Maroc and winning the overall standings of the FIA Middle-East Baja Cup.
- After competing in a Yamaha, the Qatari engineer returns to the Dakar after a one-year break and will this time be part of his legendary compatriot Nasser Al Attiyah’s team (Nasser Racing). While his brothers will be sharing a car, he will be in his own T3 Challenger Taurus with new co-driver Augusto Sanz.
A.S.
- When in 2012, Augusto Sanz went with his father on the side of Ruta 9 just next to Buenos Aires to welcome and cheer the Dakar competitors that were finishing their adventure, little did he now that just over a decade later, he would be in the cockpit of an SSV racing the Dakar.
- Well before that, Augusto was a bike specialist competing in the Argentinean championship at the young age of 18. He slowly shifted towards a co-driver’s role still on home soil winning the navigator’s title. And then came a call from Portugal’s Ricardo Porem. The volunteer firefighter in Exaltación de la Cruz, just outside Buenos Aires was first tested out on smaller rallies before taking on the Dakar in 2023.
- Alongside Porem, Sanz reached the finish line on both of his appearances capturing a fine 8th spot last year.
- A good navigator and an excellent mechanic, the Argentinean was asked to join the Nasser Racing team for the 2025 Dakar and will be essential to his new driver Ahmed Fahad Al Kuwari.
AMBITIONS 2025
A.A.K.: “Missing the Dakar Rally for the first time after 4 years of participation was quite painful for me as a cross-country driver last year. The Dakar is the most important race of the year in our discipline. So now, I really have to thank the Qatar Motorsports federation and Nasser Racing team with the legend Nasser Al Attiyah that are supporting us and have a clear vision for the future of motorsports in Qatar.”
A.S.: “Last January, we made it to the end of another Dakar and I'm grateful to be here again. With Ricardo Porem we finished 8th in the Challengers, we were aiming for a little bit more but to be in the Top 10 was always good. We’ll be kicking off 2025 with a bang and I have to thank my friend Ahmed Fahad for this opportunity. It’s great to be in this Taurus and part of the Nasser Racing team.”
