Al-Attiyah last competed in the WRC a decade ago, more precisely in Rally Australia in 2015.
However, the 54-year-old Al-Attiyah is known as a formidable driver. He has won the prestigious Dakar Rally five times during his career, and this year he competed in the legendary desert event as Sébastien Loeb’s team-mate with Dacia. In addition to that, he has taken part in national events, particularly in the Middle East.
Al-Attiyah will compete in Rally Saudi Arabia in an M-Sport Ford Rally1 car, and he is excited about the challenge ahead.
“It’s great to return to a Rally1 car. My original plan was to drive Rally2 here, but then I thought, let’s give it a try. When I called M-Sport, they said one car was available. I immediately said I’d book it for myself,” Al-Attiyah revealed.
“I was really surprised on my first run by the speed and by how much downforce this Rally1 car produces. I didn’t want to miss this rally. Of course, Rally2 would certainly have offered a good fight, but I wanted to try something I’ve never done before. And I’m really pleased with that,” he continued.
When Al-Attiyah last competed in the WRC, the cars were very different from today’s machinery.
“You can’t compare these cars. The last time I drove in the WRC was in 2015, and now we’re talking about completely different technology – much more downforce and overall the cars are incredible,” he said.
Even though Al-Attiyah has no experience with the current Rally1 cars, he isn’t shy about setting bold ambitions.
“My goal would be to get on the podium, but in this rally you need to be smart. Pure speed doesn’t decide everything,” he stated firmly.
“A new rally always brings surprises, and you can’t know what’s coming. There are a lot of loose rocks. Most of the stages are soft sand, which means the stones will come up. But I’m pleased with how they’ve managed to prepare this kind of surface for the first time,” he added.
Latvian driver Mārtiņš Sesks is also making his return to M-Sport’s Rally1 car in Saudi Arabia. He too says the event is, by nature, something of a mystery.
“There’s a bit of everything here,” Sesks said of the conditions.
“The rally and the stages have very different characteristics – not just slightly different, but completely distinct sections: open desert, roads, riverbeds, mountains – everything is here. It will be a huge challenge,” Sesks predicted.
If Al-Attiyah put a bold target on the table, Sesks in turn refused to set any kind of result-based objective for himself. But he is well aware of how important a good performance would be.
“Let’s see how it goes. I have no idea how the rally will unfold. Maybe now is the time to push properly and secure a seat for next season. Of course, we’re always trying to push – more or less,” Sesks said.
