DOHA, QATAR – The final stage of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, Round 3 of the FIA’s cross-country world cup, saw former Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mattieu Baumel triumph in their South Africa-built Toyota Hilux. The pair led the five-day event from start to finish, recording four consecutive stage wins in the process.
“Today we took it easy,” said Al-Attiyah after winning the Sealine Cross-Country Rally in Doha, Qatar on Friday, April 22nd. “We looked after the Toyota Hilux, and settled for the second-fastest time today. But it was more than enough to win the event.”
Stage 5, the final stage of the event, was won by MINI’s Yazeed Al Rajhi and navigator Timo Gottschalk, who held a 01:55 gap over Al-Attiyah at the end of the final stage. This meant that the MINI trailed the Toyota Hilux crew by just over 12 minutes after nearly 1,500 km of racing in Qatar.
“We are well pleased with Nasser’s performance on this event,” said Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s Team Principal, Glyn Hall. “The Toyota Hilux never missed a beat, and our international partners, Overdrive Racing, maintained the vehicle without any issues.”
For Qatar’s Al-Attiyah and French navigator Baumel, this was the second consecutive win behind the wheel of the South African-built Toyota Hilux in this year’s championship, after their triumph on the Abu-Dhabi Desert Challenge. The pair are currently leading the FIA’s cross-country world cup standings.
“We’ve been very impressed with the Toyota Hilux,” said Al-Attiayh, “both in terms of speed and reliability.”
The next round in the World Cup is the Baja Italia, which takes place on June 23-26, 2016.