Al-Attiyah wins 2015 Dakar Rally

Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed his second Dakar Rally title after 9,000 gruelling kilometers concluded in Buenos Aires here on Saturday.

Al-Attiyah dominated the car category for entire two-week rally. The Mini driver won the first stage but was handed down a time penalty for speeding in the link section, but he took the overall lead at the end of the second stage again and kept it until the end with five stage wins in all.

Also as the Olympic bronze medal winner in skeet shooting at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Al-Attiyah eventually added to his career another Dakar Rally win after winning the most prestigious rally on Earth in 2011.

"I'm delighted I've won the Dakar! It's fantastic because we've dominated the race from the beginning and were able to control the rally throughout. I've got lots of people to thank for this," said Al-Attiyah.

"I came to the Dakar in top-notch form, both physically and mentally. Then, we managed to do our job day after day. It's fantastic. Now I want to win even more."

Al-Attiyah finished sixth in the 13th stage from Rosario to Buenos Aires which was shortened to only 34 kilometres due to heavy rain.

With a healthy overall lead set in the previous stages, Al-Attiyah is eventually 35 minutes and 34 seconds ahead of second-placed South African Ginel de Villiers, who drives for Toyota, in the overall standings. Another Mini driver Krzysztof Holowczyc of Poland finished third.

Thirty-eight-year-old Spaniard Marc Coma claimed the title in the motorcycle competition. It was the fifth time that he has won the Dakar Rally.

During the 13-day tough event, only 216 competitors (79 motorcycles, 18 quads, 68 cars and 51 trucks) out of the 420, which started the rally, managed to finish the 2015 Dakar Rally.

Polish motorbike rider Michal Hernik was found dead in the third stage at some 300 meters from the desert track without his helmet and with no apparent injury and no damage to his motorbike that would indicate an accident.

His was the fifth death since the rally was moved to South America in 2009 over security concerns in the Sahara region and the 24th since the race was created in 1979.

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