“New motivation in my quest for victory”

2024 could be Nasser Al Attiyah's year. For two reasons. Firstly, and in chronological order, because he will be setting out to conquer a sixth Dakar title, possibly his third consecutive. A treble that only Ari Vatanen and Pierre Lartigue have achieved before him in a car. His other challenge will come at the end of July/beginning of August, at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux during the Paris Olympic Games. The Qatari will be competing in his 7th Olympiad, hoping to win a second medal in skeet after the bronze he won in London 2012. But let's return to his first mission. The 53-year-old could have opted for the easy way out by sticking with the ultra-competitive Toyota Hilux T1+ that he drove to the title in 2019, 2022 and 2023. No, Al Attiyah is taking on a new challenge. By joining the Prodrive team, he dreams of winning with a fourth different vehicle: a Volkswagen Race Touareg in 2011, a Mini in 2015, a Toyota and therefore a Hunter for this new edition. It's a challenge partly calculated in the knowledge that his car has already flirted with victory, driven by Sebastien Loeb, his runner-up in 2022 and 2023. Naturally, he is taking on board his trusty co-driver Mathieu Baumel, a four-time winner who is hoping to get closer to the record holder for victories in the right-hand seat, Jean-Paul Cottret (7 wins with Stéphane Peterhansel). 2024 could, therefore, be an exceptional year for the Franco-Qatari duo, following on from a brilliant 2023 season: another W2RC title and successes in the Dakar, Mexico and Argentina.

NAA: “The last Dakar was difficult for everyone. It's incredible that I was able to hold on to my title. I'm so happy to have won five times. I'm now delighted to be part of a new team and to take on a new challenge for the next Dakar. It gives me new motivation in my quest for victory on the Dakar. I've won the Dakar five times with three different teams. We will make rally history if we win the 2024 Dakar with the Prodrive Hunter. It's a great feeling to be back with Sebastien Loeb. I have a lot of respect for him. We're going to try to work together to win the Dakar. I love this Dakar fortnight. I work a lot with the team, and we share many things, and I appreciate that. Three or four of us have dominated the Dakar over the past ten years. The level is impressive. You have to give it your all to win the Dakar. I have a long history with Prodrive. I drove for them in rallying with a Subaru. I won a lot of races with this team. When I saw that Prodrive was getting into rally-raid, I knew they would be very competitive in the future. Sébastien Loeb has finished runner-up in the last two years, but those results were due to a few mistakes. 2024 will be a special year. Not only do I have the chance to participate in my seventh Olympic Games, but I also have the opportunity to win the Dakar with a fourth different manufacturer.”

MB: “Nasser is as you see him on television. He is very generous, very kind, always friendly and smiling. And fortunately for me, he's the same in the car during the rally, whatever happens. We always keep calm and avoid stress, which helps us work better, especially for me with navigation. So, I'm so fortunate. He's like a brother to me now. During the year, I am with him more than with my family. This relationship and this mutual trust have an impact on our results. We're together on rallies but also away from them. I think the Hilux is obviously still quite capable of fighting for victory in the 2024 Dakar, but that doesn't guarantee the continuation of what we want to do with Nasser. We have spent seven years with Toyota and have brought them all their Dakar titles, including three victories. We've also won the Rally-Raid World Cup and the Bajas four times and were W2RC World Champions in 2022 and 2023. We're off on a new adventure. We are extremely motivated and ready to take on new challenges.”