The eighth stage of the 2024 Dakar includes a long journey between the fields of Al Duwadimi and Ha'il, with all eyes focused on the battle between Carlos Sainz and Sebastien Loeb, fighting for the overall victory in the car category. They are the two stars of these last days of the race, but a supporting actor, Nasser Al-Attiyah, could still have said a lot by helping the Frenchman.
However, at kilometer 62, shortly after the start of the special, the Qatari was stopped due to a mechanical problem with his Hunter. According to what Motorsport.com has learned, it was an engine problem, which broke after the first checkpoint, when he was fourth in the day's standings, half a minute behind the leader, his teammate Loeb.
The two-time world champion is waiting to return to the Ha'il bivouac to continue with the toughest race in the world and try to get points for the world championship ranking. Indeed, if he were to leave again, he would not be eligible for the Touareg trophy, but he could always get important points by the end of the season.
Nasser Al-Attiyah was very confident ahead of the Saudi event and, despite leaving behind a long experience with a reliable team like Toyota, he wanted to try his luck with Prodrive to try to gain experience for the Dacia project, which will enter the Dakar from 2025.
The Romanians, within the structure of the Renault Group, will embark on a completely new adventure and for this reason they have focused on the Qatari, together with Sebastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez, to bring the evolution of the Hunter to the top of this complex and demanding form of motorsport.
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