World champion Nasser bin Saleh Al-Attiyah topped the Mexican Sonora Rally after the withdrawal of Sebastien Loeb’s competition, and the rally constitutes the third round of the World Desert Rally Championship (W2RC) for the year 2023, which will be held during the period from (22-28) April, and has great participation and fierce and strong competition .
The champion, Nasser bin Saleh Al-Attiyah and his navigator, Matthew Baumel, on board his Toyota Hilux, accompanied by the Gazoo Racing team, succeeded in leading the Mexican Sonora Rally, after finishing third in the third stage of a length of (350) km, which he traveled after recording a time of (3 hours). 31 minutes and 17 seconds), thus leading the championship after achieving (6 hours, 34 minutes, 36 seconds), while the Saudi driver Yazid Al-Rajhi and his German navigator Timo Gottschalk finished first in his Toyota Hilux prepared by the Overdrive team, recording a time of (3 hours). And 27 minutes and 22 seconds), and he came in second place in the overall standings, with a difference of (2 minutes and 51 seconds) behind leader Al-Attiyah, and Argentine driver Sebastian Halpern came in second place in the third stage, recording a time of (3 hours, 30 minutes and 31 seconds). The Bahrain Raid Extreme Team issued a statement announcing the withdrawal of the French driver, Sebastien Loeb, after he had an accident, after conducting medical examinations on the shoulder of his Belgian navigator, Fabien Lorquin, who showed that he had a small fracture in the right shoulder, and this means that he and Sebastien are unable to continue in the Sonora Rally round. After his withdrawal, the opportunity became available to the rest of the drivers to lead the championship, the closest of them being the world champion Nasser bin Saleh Al-Attiyah, if he won the title. For his part, champion Nasser bin Saleh Al-Attiyah expressed his happiness at leading the Mexican Sonora Rally, which is being held for the first time in the 2023 World Desert Rally Championship (W2RC) series, saying: " Praise be to God and thanks to Him for leading us in this rally, and I will do my best to continue to lead and win the title in the first edition of the rally. I am at the top of my focus and the competition is still strong and exciting.". added: "Each stage has its own specificity, and I work according to a specific plan and strategy, and I hope that God will help me to continue competing and crowning the new title, and obtaining rally points, and this is my desired goal that I strive to achieve".
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
