Monday | 27 Oct 2014

First tarmac win boosts Al-Attiyah’s title bid

Nasser Al-Attiyah has credited a strategic approach for his WRC2 victory at RallyRACC Rally de Espana - a result that moves him top of the standings and makes him favourite to secure the title at next month’s Wales Rally GB.

The Qatari, who won the 2006 Production Car Championship, built a two-minute lead on the opening day’s gravel stages in Spain, and kept out of trouble on the two asphalt days that followed to finish 35sec ahead of his closest rival, Julien Maurin.
 
“We pushed a lot on the gravel stages and took a lot of time from everybody. After that we tried to manage for the two days and I think we did a good job.” said Al-Attiyah, who is co-driven by Giovanni Bernacchini.

“It was a clear weekend without any big mistakes. We did a good strategy from the beginning and this helped us win. It’s almost unbelievable - in my career I have won a lot of races but this is my first win on Tarmac.”

Victory in Spain was Al-Attiyah’s fourth in WRC2 this year and moves him top of the standings on 110 points with one more chance to score on the final round in Wales to go. Only Jari Ketomaa, who heads to Wales with 90 points, can challenge him for this year’s title.

“In GB we must be clever,” Al-Attiyah explained. “We must have good pace and finish in the top seven. That’s enough to win.

“But when I compete in GB I will aim to finish in top three because I love the rally. Okay, the number of WRC2 entries there will be big, and many good drivers will be there, but we can manage.”

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