Dakar 2023: Al-Attiyah secures fifth event victory
Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah secured his fifth victory in the Dakar Rally after a cautious run through the final test, won by Guerlain Chicherit.

In another characteristic display from the Qatari driver, Al-Attiyah switched to a conservative approach once all his rivals had fallen by the wayside, playing the long-game instead of going all-out for individual stage honours.
Finishing a safe eighth place on the final 136km test between Al-Hofuf and Dammam on Sunday, he took overall honours by 1hr20m49s in one of the most one-sided contests of the Dakar's recent history.
The result puts him second on the list of drivers with most Dakar wins in the cars category, just three behind record holder Stephane Peterhansel.
Although defending event winner Al-Attiyah was still the outright favourite going into the event, held on a longer 14-stage route from the west to the west east of Saudi Arabia, there was genuine belief that drivers from Audi and the Prodrive-run Bahrain Raid Xtreme team will be able to put up a serious challenge.
Victories in Prologue and the opening stage for Audi indicated that a proper multi-way fight was on the cards, but the German manufacturer’s challenge crumbled spectacularly over the following days, with Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz Sr eventually retiring from the rally-raid.
Peterhansel was the first to withdraw from the event when his car plunged from a height of six metres on Stage 6, with his co-driver Edouard Boulanger breaking a vertebra in the incident.
Sainz retired three stages later with his own crash while tackling a dune, but by that time he had already fallen out of contention after encountering mechanical problems on day 2 and a repeat of Peterhansel’s incident at the same section on Stage 6.
BRX’s lead driver Sebastien Loeb too was out of running by this point of the rally, having encountered multiple punctures and a roll in the opening days of the event.

#201 Bahrain Raid Xtreme Prodrive: Sebastien Loeb, Fabian Lurquin
Photo by: A.S.O.
This meant that Al-Attiyah was already an hour clear of the opposition by the time he claimed what was his third and last stage win of 2023 on Stage 6, allowing him to take his foot off the throttle in the second week of the rally and ease to back-to-back wins.
Loeb eventually managed to pull off a remarkable recovery drive to claim second position, scoring a record six consecutive stage wins in the second week of the rally, as his Prodrive-built Hunter proved rapid on its second appearance in Dakar.
However, the result still fell short of the Frenchman’s expectations, meaning he will have to wait until at least 2024 to finally add a Dakar win to his list of nine titles in the World Rally Championship.
Third place in the overall standings went to Lucas Moraes, who surprised everyone on his maiden appearance in Dakar with a trouble-free run in his customer Toyota Hilux.
Two more drivers from the Toyota stable rounded off the top five in what was one of the strongest showings from the Japanese manufacturer, with factory drivers Giniel de Villiers and Henk Lategan finishing fourth and fifth respectively - separated by just seven minutes at the finish.
Another Toyota driver, Overdrive’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi, also impressed on his home turf with victory on Stage 7, but problems in Stage 9 left him out of running for a spot inside the top 10.
Martin Prokop was classified sixth for Benzina ahead of Overdrive’s Juan Cruz Yacopini, Wei Han (Hanwei) and X-Raid Mini’s Sebastian Halpern.
GCK Motorsport driver Chicherit bagged his second stage victory on Stage 14, after prevailing on Stage 3, to round off the top 10.
Chicherit pipped Mattias Ekstrom to the quickest time, the Swede hauling himself up to a provisional 13th place in the sole surviving Audi. His own set of problems had left him out of contention for victory after an encouraging first-place finish in the Prologue.
Provisional classification (Top 10):
Position |
Driver |
Car |
Time / gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
Nasser Al-Attiyah |
Toyota |
45hr03m15s |
2 |
Sebastien Loeb |
Prodrive |
+1hr20m49s |
3 |
Locas Moraes |
Toyota |
+1hr38m31s |
4 |
Giniel de Villiers |
Toyota |
+2hr31m12s |
5 |
Henk Lategan |
Toyota |
+2hr36m23s |
6 |
Martin Prokop |
Benzina |
+3hr40m44s |
7 |
Juan Cruz Yacopini |
Toyota |
+4hr27m09s |
8 |
Wei Han |
SMG |
+4hr29m38s |
9 |
Sebastian Halpern |
Mini |
+4hr42m38s |
10 |
Guerlain Chicherit |
Prodrive |
+5hr22m10s |

Dakar 2023: Loeb scores record sixth straight stage win
Carlos Sainz reveals Dakar crash caused multiple spinal fractures

Latest news
Daytona 24, Hour 3: Cadillac leads Acura and Porsche
The #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac leads the Acuras of Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing after three hours of action in the 61st Daytona 24 Hours.
Hughes "happy to feel a nudge" over the line from Evans after Diriyah FE energy shortage
McLaren Formula E driver Jake Hughes says he was "happy to feel a nudge" from Mitch Evans in the Diriyah E-Prix, which pushed him over the finish line for fifth.
Daytona 24, Hour 1: Acura leads, BMW in trouble early
Tom Blomqvist lead the opening hour of the Daytona 24 Hours aboard the Meyer Shank Racing Acura, as BMW became the first of the GTP manufacturers to hit trouble.
F1 champion Button "definitely interested" in NASCAR road course outings
The 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button says competing in NASCAR Cup races on road courses is something he is "definitely interested in".
The positive future implications of Audi's creditable Dakar debut
OPINION: Audi has been a disruptive presence on the 2022 Dakar Rally, with its new hybrid RS Q e-tron taking three stage wins so far. Its impressive pace and resilience on one of the world’s toughest tests also bodes well for the Dakar’s future as it seeks to attract new manufacturers
How Prodrive plans to use trial by Dakar to spur it to victory
Having tasted plenty of success in the World Rally Championship in the past, Prodrive took its off-road excursions to a new level with its first Dakar Rally entry this year. Now well-versed in the challenges that the famous rally-raid event possesses, Prodrive can learn from those lessons for next year's tilt at Dakar honours
Why Loeb has joined forces with an old enemy for Dakar
The nine-time World Rally champion is heading to the Dakar Rally with an all-new project, and is joining up with the team he often fought against in the WRC - Prodrive - in his quest to finally add the most famed rally raid of them all to his bulging CV
Richards on Prodrive's new Dakar challenge
With a stunning success record in motorsport, Prodrive is targeting a new crown by entering the 2021 Dakar Rally. David Richards provides an update on the programme, how COVID has slowed its plans and its options on who sits behind the wheel of its new car
Why Alonso is already exceeding expectations in Dakar bid
How significant was Fernando Alonso's first cross-country rallying podium on a Saudi Arabian event last weekend? Very. The next leg of his post-F1 quest for versatile glory is going very well so far...
What Alonso learned from his best Dakar test yet
Double Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso took on one of his biggest challenges yet in the five-day Dakar warm-up event, Rally Morocco. Alonso gives his thoughts on his progress in a "bittersweet" event, and whether he will contest the Dakar
Why Alonso must heed Loeb's Dakar failures
Fernando Alonso is edging closer to a Dakar debut, but he should take heed of the lessons rallying legend Sebastien Loeb has learned through several near-misses, despite his promising performances at the event
Why Loeb cannot be allowed to give up on Dakar
Sebastien Loeb has been the fastest man on the Dakar Rally since he first appeared on the legendary event, but he's still not won it after four dramatic attempts. That story cannot end here
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.