Nasser Al Attiyah (left) during a press conference ahead of the Rallye du Maroc.
Agadir, Morocco: Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, who is on the verge of a second W2RC crown, took things slow in the Prologue as the Rallye du Maroc - the final round of this year’s World Rally-Raid Championship - flagged off yesterday in Agadir, Morocco.
Al Attiyah finished the day in 21st position, ahead of five tough desert stages that will decide the rally and championship outcomes.
Third on the day in his Toyota, Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi is the only driver who can prevent Al Attiyah from retaining the W2RC drivers’ title. To do that, he must win the rally outright, and finish near the top in every individual stage over the next five days.
The Prologue took the 34-strong cars on a fast, rolling, sandy appetiser for the five demanding desert stages to follow. Later, the top ten drivers were selecting their starting positions for tomorrow’s 324km stage from Agadir to Zagora, the first of five demanding desert time trials in a route of 2,240km, which finishes at Merzouga, near the Algerian border, on Wednesday.
