Al-Attiyah starts title defence with Mexico win
Comfortable victory for Al-Attiyah in WRC 2 season debut
Q&A: Nasser Al-Attiyah
Reigning WRC 2 World Champion Nasser Al-Attiyah got his title defence off to the best possible start with victory at Rally Guanajuato Mexico.
We caught up with Nasser after the rally to find out more about his opening round success.
Q: Congratulations Nasser. One rally, one win.
N A-A: “Yeah, it was a good job. I’m very happy to start my season here in Mexico with the win in WRC 2. It’s a great step and now we are looking forward to the next race.”
Q: You said you won this rally because you were clever. Is this event all about patience?
N A-A: “It's important. I always knew we had the speed. Of course we were pushing all the way, but with a good speed - not going crazy. On this rally you need to have a good speed, but if you have some problem you will lose the race. We didn’t. It’s the same strategy we use every time with the long races.”
Q: So your Cross-Country rally experience helped on Mexico’s long stages?
N A-A: “Yes, it helped a lot.”
Q: You had a good fight with Yurii Protasov early in the event.
N A-A: “Absolutely. Yurii did a good job for two days. But he had a puncture and afterwards he decided to push and he went off. But okay, this is the game.”
Q: This was your first WRC appearance alongside co-driver Matthieu Baumel. You seem to work well together.
N A-A: “Yes, fantastic. From the beginning I was not sure, but we took everything step-by-step and for the final two days it was perfect.”
Q: Where will we see you next in WRC 2?
N A-A: “I will miss Argentina, so my next rally will be Portugal.”
Q: And you have a busy month ahead?
N A-A: “Straight after Mexico I head to Kuwait for the second round of the Middle East Rally Championship. From there I go to the World Cup for shooting and from there straight to Abu Dhabi for the Cross-Country rally. March is busy!”
