By Armstrong Vas

Doha: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is confident of picking up his fourth victory in the car category in five years at the Sealine Cross-Country Rally which gets underway from the ancient northerly military fort at Al-Zubara.

Today’s first stage of the Qatar’s flagship off-road motor sport event precedes five days of punishing action across the length and breadth of the deserts of Qatar.

“I will work very hard to win this race. I have a lot of experience. I won the first race in Abu Dhabi and I am now leading the championship” said Al Attiyah the two time Darkar Rally winner while speaking to journalists on the eve of the six- day championship.

“I suppose the strategy is like Abu Dhabi two weeks ago to go for the win and keep up the good work in the championship. We made a small test on Saturday afternoon to make sure everything was in order” he added.

The world’s leading off-road drivers and riders have come together through the organisational efforts of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) to tackle approximately 1633 competitive kilometres in a complex and demanding route of around 2452km. A huge organisational and logistical effort has been put in place to make the event possible with events sanctioned by the FIA and FIM running in tandem over the five days.

The ace Qatari driver said the some of the top drivers who are veterans of the Dakar Rally are here and predicted a close contest.

His fiercest challenge this year comes on two fronts but from one team: Vladimir Vasilyev is a former winner of the FIA World Cup and the Russian and his Saudi Arabian team-mate Yazeed Al-Rajhi will be looking for a first Sealine success in their X-raid Mini All4 Racings; the car in which Al-Attiyah used to win the event in 2014 and 2015

“It will be not be easy for everybody” he said in response to another question.

Questioned as to who will pose a challenge to his ambitions of winning yet another race in a home event Al Attiyah said: “We need to respect all the drivers you know. And it will not be fair to pin point any particular driver. The entry looks very good. Most of the drivers were competing in Abu Dhabi and Dakar and they are in Qatar.”

“I have a good experience and will do my best to win. I hope to enjoy and to win the race” he added.

Al Attiyah agreed with the view expressed by most of the leading drivers that the Sealine Rally route is a tricky issue.

“Navigation is difficult but it is ok. We need to work together driver and co-driver and to make sure to at least not to get lost. I think the QMMF and the people who drew up the route did a good job. The route book is very good.”

The 45-year old a bronze medal winner in shooting at the London Games in 2012 who will compete in a Toyota at the Sealine Rally said the decision to compete whether in a Mini or a Toyota at the Dakar Rally remains in a limbo for the moment.

“Nothing has changed of me shifting from a Mini to a Toyota” he said when asked about his change of vehicle from an earlier Mini to the current Toyota.

“I got an offer to drive in a Toyota and I accepted it and now I showed that we can win in a Toyota we won first race I hope to win here. If I get a good offer from Toyota I will continue and if I do not get the offer of what I need (from Toyota) I think the Mini also want to offer and want me to drive offering me a good contract. So I will wait and see what is good for me and my country.”

The rally has attracted a provisional 40 starters in the car category and drivers from virtually every corner of the planet.

Hoping to step on to the podium if the top three seeds hit trouble will be the likes of Al Attiyah’s Toyota team-mate Marek Dabrowski Portugal’s Ricardo Porém in a third X-raid Mini and the former Dakar winning German lady Jutta Kleinschmidt in an X-raid development two-wheel drive Buggy.

Flying the flag for the host nation in the main T1 category are the likes of Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah’s brother Khalifa in a third Overdrive Toyota. Mohammed Al Harqan in a Nissan Patrol and Mohammed Al Mannai in a powerful Chevrolet Buggy.

Sheikh Hamed bin Eid Al Thani the 1993 FIA Middle East rally champion will now run in the national category at the rear of the field with Emirati co-driver Arif Yousef Mohammed.The Peninsula