Nasser Al Attiyah and the best rally-raid racers on the planet would be in action in Spain in the brand-new Andalucia Rally starting Tuesday till October 10th, 2020.
There’s a host of Dakar Rally champions in the pack besides some intriguing rookies to keep an eye on when the five days of off-road action get underway.
Expect a heavyweight tussle in the car category as Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT), Carlos Sainz (ESP), and Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) engage in battle. This trio have won the Dakar a staggering 19 times between them as well as picking up a host of other honors, including WRC titles and Olympic medals!
“It’s always great to test ourselves against our Dakar rivals,” stated Nasser Al Attiyah who will continue with the Toyota Hilux he has been helping to develop over the past seasons and brought to victory at the 2019 Dakar.
“We’re very happy to have this opportunity to get back to racing rally-raid in Andalucia. Our target is to go fast and to win this race, like we aim to do at every rally we compete in. It will be great to get to work with the team again and get everything ready for Dakar,” said Attiyah.
Reigning Dakar champion Sainz will be at the wheel of a MINI John Cooper Works Buggy while Peterhansel takes control of the 4x4 MINI Rally which he drove to victory at last month’s Baja Poland.
“Despite the difficult time we were able to find some areas that we could improve on. The team has done a great job and I think we have become even better,” said Sainz.
Mr. Dakar, Stephane Peterhansel too is all motivated. “My motivation is still there – maybe even more so as I know that the Buggy will be even better. I have a new co-pilot sitting next to me and I think Edouard (Boulanger) has a lot of potential that he can certainly exploit to the fullest at the Dakar. I am also very much looking forward to Saudi Arabia – the landscape there is simply incredible,” he said.
There has been plenty of time for reflection for the Red Bull KTM Factory Team after they missed out on victory at the Dakar earlier this year, ending an unprecedented winning streak stretching back nearly two decades.
The team take their place in the bike race at the Andalucía Rally with a firm focus on getting back to winning ways.
“I’m really thankful that the organizers have managed to arrange this rally in Spain, and we get to go racing again. After all, it’s what we love to do,” said Toby Price.
Former Dakar champions Toby Price (AUS), Sam Sunderland (GBR) and Matthias Walkner (AUT) will all saddle up for the Red Bull KTM Factory Team in Spain. Also along for his first ride as part of the all-conquering KTM team will be new recruit Daniel Sanders (AUS).
“Testing has been going well and the bike is feeling good, so now hopefully a good result in Andalucía and then concentrate on Dakar,” remarked Matthias Walkner.
Racing in her homeland will be Laia Sanz (ESP) with a GasGas bike while CS Santosh (IND) will be onboard Hero hardware for the 1,354-kilometre rally in southern Spain.
“Coming out of the last Dakar I had two broken ligaments in my hand and these injuries take a long time to recover from. To be coming back now after a long recovery and everything else that has been happening feels good,” said Sanz.
In the side-by-side (SxS) contest there’s another chance to catch the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team in action. After setting the fastest time on six of the 12 SxS stages at the last Dakar, there’s a solid platform in place for the drivers and their OT3 machines to kick on from. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) is back behind the wheel of his OT3 by Overdrive while Seth Quintero (USA) who just turned 18 last month and rallycross sensation Kevin Hansen (SWE) are both getting their first drive in Andalucía. 2019 Nitro Rally Cross winner Kevin will be standing-in for Blade Hildebrand (USA) while the American racer sits this one out to recover from his unlucky accident at Baja 500.
All racers and all teams are targeting the Andalucia Rally as a key to preparation ahead of the 2021 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
In what has been a stop-start year for the competitors, now is the time for the best of the best to show that they have lost none of their speed.
