May 12, 2015 – The Qatar Rally Team duo of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel are aiming to add to their outstanding string of victories when they speed away from the start line of the 2015 Pharaons Rally. The five-stage cross-country race is the latest appointment for the pair in what has so far been a season of significant success.
Nasser and Mathieu arrived in South America at the start of the year to contest the Dakar Rally having secured the previous season’s FIA World Rally Championship-2 title. A fortnight later Nasser was celebrating the second Dakar victory of his racing career. In the following five months further wins have been clocked up at WRC2, FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup and Middle East Rally Championship events.
Nasser has even found time to swap his Red Bull flying Mini with 2011 DTM champion Martin Tomczyk’s vehicle for a completely different racing experience. Click here to get the full story.
With such strong form behind them it’s no surprise that the car to beat in Egypt will be the Mini of the Qatar Rally Team containing Nasser and Mathieu. However, the duo will need to guard against complacency as they have throughout all of their victories this year. Nothing will come easy over the 1,500km of timed special stages stretching across perilous terrain from the Mediterranean to the Pyramids.
On each of the five days of the Pharaons Rally the challenges of dunes, pistes, fesh-fesh and canyons await Nasser and Mathieu not to mention a top class field of competitors. Fellow Mini drivers Vladimir Vasilyev (fifth at the last Dakar) and Adam Malysz (world champion ski jumper turned rally racer) will both be looking to build on solid starts this season in a bid to pick up further 2015 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup ranking points in Egypt.
If Nasser is to arrive quickest to the Giza Pyramids he will need to show his trademark speed over the dunes while Mathieu will once again have to be on the top of his game to meet the navigational challenges to come.
The first stage of the Pharaons Rally takes place on Tuesday, May 12 with the fifth and final leg on Saturday, May 16.