Qatar- Rally of Jordan was the 'toughest' says Al Attiyah

Date

10/20/2015 1:06:25 AM

(MENAFN- The Peninsula)Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (right) celebrates his win at Rally of Jordan on Saturday.

DOHA: Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah who bagged his 11th FIA Middle East Championship title three days ago has described his title clinching win at Rally of Jordan as ‘the toughest’.

No sooner after he had topped the Rally of Jordan Al Attiyah confirmed he would be going to feature at next week’s Rally de Espana in WRC category.

“Rally of Jordan was the toughest this year” Al Attiyah said after announcing his WRC plans for next week. “I would say it has been a successful year” Al Attiyah said.

Al Attiyah is one title shy of Mohammed bin Sulayem’s tally of 60 wins. The Qatari won races in Qatar Kuwait Jordan Iran and Cyprus.

When asked about his continued absence from Rally of Lebanon Al Attiyah said: “Rally of Lebanon is not out of my plans. It is a different rally from other rallies because of its road and mountain mix. But I intend to compete next year.”

Al Attiyah who bagged a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games said he is eyeing another shot at the gold at Rio next year.

“My ambition is to win a (gold) medal at Rio Olympics” Al Attiyah said. The Qatari finished fourth in skeet shooting competition at Athens in 2004. “I will be preparing extensively in the coming months” he added.

Al Attiyah who has featured at five Olympic Games said he will be competing at shooting events across Asia in preparation for his stint at Rio de Janeiro Games.

When asked about his time management Al Attiyah said he has ‘good teams’ which help him prepare for rallying and shooting events.

“At the beginning of the year me and my team we put together a balanced programe of activities. That makes things easier for us to manage and there is no overlapping of events” Al Attiyah said.

Al Attiyah said: I don’t do all this for myself. My wins and achievements are for Qatar. I will continue to bring laurels to my country.”

The 45-year-old thanked his family for support.

“I couldn’t have done this without the backing of my family” Al Attiyah said. “They understand my situation and my busy schedules. Their support drives to go work harder” he said.

When asked about his fitness Al Attiyah said he tries to ‘sleep early’ and he tries to avoid ‘meat’.

Al Attiyah a Barcelona fan said he will continue to work hard in both disciplines - rallying and shooting - so that he could ‘leave a lasting legacy’.

The Peninsula

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.