DAKAR 2023. Qatari Nasser al-Attiyah won his fifth Dakar rally-raid in the car category on Sunday January 15, at the end of the 14th and final stage of the competition in Saudi Arabia. Find on this page the top 10 car and motorcycle categories, and the winners of the other categories.
[Updated Jan 15, 2023 5:22 PM] Nasser al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) further establishes himself as the current master of the most demanding rally-raid in the world. On Sunday January 15, 2023, the Qatari won the 2023 edition of the Dakar in the car category, at the end of the 14th stage of the competition. This last stage connected, over 417 km, the Saudi cities of Al-Hofuf and Dammam. After winning the rally-raid in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2022, the Qatari therefore retains his title and brings his number of victories in the car category to five! With the help of his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel, the 52-year-old arrived at the end of the stage just over 1h20 ahead of Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme). Brazilian Lucas Moraes (Overdrive Racing) finished third.
“It was a difficult Dakar for everyone. It’s crazy to be able to defend your title. I’m very happy to win five times, and Matthieu (Baumel, his co-driver, editor’s note) four times… sorry, Matthieu! ” reacted jokingly Nasser al-Attiyah, according to comments reported by L’Equipe. Mathieu Baumel indeed joined the Qatari in 2015, and was therefore not present at his side when he won his first Dakar in 2011. With now five victories on the clock, Nasser al-Attiyah passed the legend of the rally Ari Vatanen. The Finn has indeed won this competition four times. “I respect Ari enormously, he is still my idol. I always want to win more and more, now I want to defend my title of world champion”, declared Nasser al-Attiyah.
Sébastien Loeb, who therefore finished second in this Dakar 2023 in the car category, hailed the victory of Nasser al-Attiyah, who “had a very good race and no mistakes”. Words reported by Le Figaro. “After the start of the rally we had, we couldn’t have hoped for much better than that. Regularly, Nasser, it was unplayable, he had a very good race and no mistakes”, continued the French driver. . Indeed, Sébastien Loeb suffered multiple punctures from the 2nd stage of the rally-raid, as well as an accident which occurred on Thursday January 5, 2023, during the 5th stage. Although he had made a spectacular comeback since then, he did not manage to win this Dakar title, which is still missing from his impressive record.
In the Motorcycle category, Argentinian Kevin Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was crowned champion of the 2023 edition of the Dakar rally-raid. A victory on the wire, since the Australian Toby Price, also with Red Bull KTM, came second with only 43 seconds difference. “It’s incredible to succeed in winning at the end of this completely crazy Dakar and with such a small gap”, reacted Kevin Benavides, who won his second Dakar at 34, after a first victory in 2021. by The Team.
You have to go to the Quad category to have a French victory. It was Alexandre Giroud (Yamaha Racing – SMX – Drag’On), who finished first in this category, 43 minutes ahead of Argentinian Francisco Moreno Flores (Dragon). He thus retains his title won for the first time in 2022. In the Truck category, Dutchman Janus Van Kasteren (Rooy Iveco’s Boss Machinery Team) won with his two teammates, Polish Darek Rodewald and Dutchman Marcel Snijders. The trio were almost 1h15 ahead of second place.
Finally, South African Charan Moore (HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing) won in the Original by Motul category, American Austin Jones (Red Bull Off-Road JR Team USA by BFG) finished in first place in the T3 Light Prototype category, and Poland’s Eryk Goczal (Energylandia Rally Team) who was victorious in the T4 Modified Production SSV category. The results of the Challenge New Energy and Classic categories are still awaited. For more details on the different classifications, please consult the official Dakar website.
Here is the ranking of the top 10 drivers in the car category in the Dakar, with the names of their co-drivers, their teams and the time gap to the first position:
Here is the ranking of the top 10 riders in the motorcycle category on the Dakar, with the names of their teams and the time gap to first position:
