Lima: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (pictured) will be chasing his third Dakar rally crown when the gruelling event flags off today in the Peruvian capital of Lima.
The one of the most prominent drivers in the world of motorsports and rallying, multi-talented Al Attiyah who drives for Toyota Gazoo Racing this time, has previously won the prestigious event in 2011 and 2015.
Al Attiyah is the reigning FIA Cross-Country World champion as well as the Middle East Rally Champion and the veteran driver is no doubt a top contender to tackle the 40th edition of the classic endurance event.
However, Al Attiyah will face stiff opposition from Peugeot’s French driver Stephane Peterhansel who will target a 14th victory in this year’s rally, played out over 9,000km of gruelling terrain which includes criss-crossing the Andes and confronting the unique physical demands of Bolivia’s thin air.
This will be the 10th occasion that the Dakar Rally is being held in South America since it was shifted from terror-hit sub-Sahara Africa which will end in Argentina’s second city of Cordoba on January 20.
Peterhansel has won on four-wheels seven times, including the last two for Peugeot, and scorched to six titles on a motorbike since his event debut in 1988.
The veteran 52-year-old led a podium sweep in the car race for the French manufacturer in 2017 and this year will be favourite again alongside teammates Carlos Sainz, a two-time world rally champion and 2010 winner at the Dakar, Cyril Despres and Sebastien Loeb, a nine-time world rally champion.
“Peru is the country that comes closest to Africa, with many dunes and big off-track spaces,” said Peterhansel.
“The mix between Peru, Bolivia and Argentina will probably be one of the most beautiful races in South America. They will be special -- long and hard.”
He added: “We have to get out of Peru well placed. With all the dunes, we must try not to get bogged down. The rally will not be decided before the finish line in Argentina.”
Loeb, meanwhile, was runner-up last year, 12 months after finishing ninth on his debut.
“We will see,” Loeb said when asked of his title prospects this year.
“It’s difficult to predict as there are so many variables on the Dakar. There are lots of factors which can swing it either way.”
Peugeot’s main rival will again be Toyota, represented by Al Attiyah and South Africa’s Giniel De Villiers (the 2009 champion).
The two-week race will also see Portuguese football manager Andre Villas-Boas taking part.
Villas-Boas, who coached Porto, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Zenit St Petersburg and Shanghai SIGP, will drive a Toyota Hilux as he revives a family link -- his uncle Pedro Villas-Boas drove in the race in 1982 in a 4x4.
Villas-Boas, 40, said that he had originally thought of riding a motorcycle on the Dakar but then changed his mind after talking to one of the motorbike teams.
“I spoke with my friend Alex Doringer, the manager of the KTM team, who told me that I would still need a full year’s preparation to get there and that it was better to consider doing it with a car,” Villas-Boas told the Dakar Rally website.
“So I got in touch with Team Overdrive and here I am!”
