The Dacia Sandriders is now a two-time winning team in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship after Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger claimed a hugely impressive Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory during a thrilling final stage.
With a slender lead of 41 seconds starting the deciding 167 timed kilometres today, Al-Attiyah and Boulanger had to be at their best to remain in front. With their sustainable-fuelled Dacia Sandrider performing faultlessly across the challenging sand and dunes between Mezeer'ah and the finish in Abu Dhabi city, Al-Attiyah and Boulanger charged to their second fastest stage time of the event to take the win by 2m28s.
As well as marking the second victory for The Dacia Sandriders in the FIA World Rally Championship (W2RC) following its debut triumph on Rallye du Maroc last October, it was Al-Attiyah's fifth Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge first-place finish and a third for navigator Boulanger.
The result elevates Al-Attiyah to first place in the provisional W2RC Drivers' ranking with Frenchman Boulanger on top of the Navigators' points after two rounds. The Dacia Sandriders moves into second place in the Manufacturers' standings.
Today's stage victory was the third of the five-day Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge for The Dacia Sandriders, which also celebrated a fastest time from Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin on Stage 2.
Having led overall and appearing to be set for a podium finish, Loeb, from France, and Belgian Lurquin were forced to retire due to damage sustained when they rolled 41 kilometres from the start of Stage 4 on Wednesday, Loeb's 51st birthday.
Loeb and Lurquin had hoped to restart on the final day of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, but an inspection by the FIA technical team late last night determined the roll cage in their Dacia Sandrider was damaged, ruling them out on safety grounds.
After going second fastest on Stage 1 and quickest of all on Stage 2 to hold the provisional lead with two days completed, their early exit from Stage 4 represented poor reward for their excellent endeavour.
'I'm really proud of what Nasser and Édouard have achieved because they had to push until the very end,' said Tiphanie Isnard, team principal of The Dacia Sandriders.
'They had a strong race and never doubted the team. We've had some tough days between Dakar and Abu Dhabi to be ready and be on battle again so it's a big thanks to the team. We're really happy with the result and we're now leading the championship for the driver and navigator and provisionally we have taken second place in the Manufacturers' championship so it's definitely great.'
KEY QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah, Driver, The Dacia Sandriders explained: 'It's a really good feeling and I'm very happy to win the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. It was a big push from us this week and thanks to The Dacia Sandriders. We were coming here to win the race and lead the championship to make it easier for the next race. We have a really good car, and the team is very strong. We feel sorry for Seb for what happened yesterday, but this is the situation, and I am really happy to win this race for The Dacia Sandriders and all partners and people who are supporting us. The speed was very high from every competitor, we respect everyone, but we did a very good job over the last few days.'
Édouard Boulanger, Navigator, The Dacia Sandriders added: 'The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is always a special race for us. It was a tough battle until the last kilometres, and we were not managing any lead. It was intense but we're really happy to complete it on a positive note for The Dacia Sandriders and for us. After the Dakar we needed this result to get back a bit of confidence. For sure the intensity of the battle with Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleón was really tough and it will be really tough for the next races so we cannot expect to dominate the season. Still, we are here and on top of the podium. It's five victories for Nasser and three for me in Abu Dhabi so it's really nice.'
ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE STAGE 5 RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)
1st: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 2h04m25s
ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE OVERALL RESULT (UNOFFICIAL)
1st: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 14h26m55s
WHAT'S NEXT?
The FIA World Rally-Raid Championship resumes with the South African Safari Rally from 18 – 24 May, a new and exciting addition to the W2RC calendar.
Photo credit: Dacia posted on conceptcarz.com
