Nasser Al-Attiyah: The Prince of Off Road 4X4

If you like Off Road and 4X4, you have surely heard about Nasser Al-Attiyah, the Qatari prince, pilot, and champion of the Dakar rally. However, few know that he has also been an Olympic athlete on 4 occasions, that he enjoys Bob Marley's music, and that he even rented a Hummer from Robby Gordon to compete in the Dakar in 2012. Let's delve deeper into this Adventure Athlete.

Photo: Red Bull

His name is Nasser Al-Attiyah, but his friends call him Saleh. He is a Rally S-WRC and Dakar pilot. He was born in Doha on December 21, 1970, and enjoys classical music and Bob Marley's reggae. He is a member of the Qatari royalty and his favorite food is roasted camel, which he recommends trying.

Photo: Red Bull

Nasser is incomparable. He has short dark hair, brown skin, brown eyes, and gapped teeth. He is friendly and very skilled. Besides being a rally driver, he is an Olympic medalist for his country in shooting and the owner of a financial conglomerate with around 40 companies.

Photo: Sport360

As a driver, he won the Production World Rally Championship in 2006; he triumphed in the Dakar in 2011, being the only Arab to win the competition, and repeated the victory in 2015, dominating the race from start to finish.

Photo: biser3a

In Shooting, he finished 4th in the Olympic Games of 2004 and won a bronze in London 2012. Besides being the Qatari rally champion from 1992 to 1995, the year he stopped competing. His current co-driver and friend is the Frenchman Mathieu Baumel, with whom he has been competing for several years.

Photo: commons.wikimedia

His main rival and teammate is the Spanish champion Carlos Sainz, with whom he has had fierce disputes, as evidenced in 2010 when Nasser finished 2nd after Sainz, by only 2:32 minutes. This was the closest victory in the history of the Rally Dakar.

Photo: Motorenlinea

In 2012, he rented a Hummer from Robby Gordon, but faced numerous issues with the car and ultimately had to abandon the Rally. Al-Attiyah is not only an athlete with 4 Olympic appearances and two Dakar championships under his belt, he is also a great businessman, managing a massive family business.

Photo: Sertoes

The Qatari prince himself states that he does not live off cars, as it is just his hobby, and that his main focus is actually on the Barwa company, a financial complex with only 5 years in existence and ownership of over 40 companies.

Photo: Ooredoo

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