Opinion: Nasser Al-Attiyah's fourth Dakar win was his most special

Toyota dominated this year's rally, despite strong efforts from Prodrive and Audi

He had won the Dakar Rally three times before, but Qatari off-road racer Nasser Al-Attiyah’s fourth was extra special, given that it was his first since the event relocated to the deserts of Saudi Arabia in his home region.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver dominated the epic event in his Hilux, winning just two of the 12 stages but leading nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb – who was driving a Prodrive-built BRX Hunter – by 27min 46sec at the finish.

Audi endured mixed fortunes on its Dakar debut with its new hybrid-powered RS Q E-tron. Stéphane Peterhansel, a 14- time Dakar winner, was out of contention after crashing on the very first stage and team-mates Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekström lost lots of time to navigational errors.

But the Audi won four stages on its debut and was considered at least a match on pace for the Toyota and Prodrive entries. Ekström finished ninth and Sainz 12th.

*Motorsport Greats: Jimmie Johnson *

A seven-time Nascar champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner, Jimmie Johnson is a racing legend with nothing to prove – which makes the 46-year-old’s switch to the Indycar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing all the more valiant. Perhaps he should know better at his age! The learning curve proved steep for Johnson last year, but he will be back for more this season, when he’s also due to take on the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. 

Respected for his humility as well as his standout speed in stock cars, the Californian has also competed regularly in the Daytona 24 Hours sports car race. This weekend he will return in an Action Express-run Cadillac DPi prototype, sharing with Toyota Gazoo Racing Le Mans heroes Kamui Kobayashi and José María López and seasoned German Mike Rockenfeller. 

*Photos: Getty Images*