Six-Time Winner · Dakar Rally

Nasser Al-Attiyah

Six victories at the Dakar Rally, the first Arab driver to win it and the first to win it on Arab soil. He is also an Olympic bronze medallist in skeet shooting, and has won the world cross-country rally title eight times.

Nationality
Qatari
Born
21 December 1970 · Doha, Qatar
Dakar wins
6 (2011, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2026)
Also
Olympic bronze, skeet shooting, London 2012
World titles
8 · cross-country rally and rally-raid
Co-driver
Mathieu Baumel
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Six-Time Dakar Winner
2004 — Present
6
Dakar Victories
8
World Rally-Raid Titles
5
Dakar Runner-Up Finishes
1
Olympic Bronze Medal

Who is Nasser Al-Attiyah?

Nasser Al-Attiyah (born 21 December 1970) is a Qatari rally driver who has won the Dakar Rally six times — in 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2026 — and was the first Arab driver to win it. He is also an Olympic bronze medallist in skeet shooting, from London 2012, and an eight-time world cross-country rally champion.

Full name
Nasser Saleh Nasser Abdullah al-Attiyah
Nationality
Qatari
Career
2003–present
Best known for
Six Dakar Rally wins and an Olympic shooting medal

By Kozmozracing Editorial Published Updated 4 sources

Rider Profile

Nasser Al-Attiyah: Full Biography

Nasser Saleh Nasser Abdullah al-Attiyah is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter who has won the Dakar Rally six times — in 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2026. He was the first Arab driver to win the event, and in 2022 the first to win it on Arab soil. He has also been world cross-country rally champion eight times.

Two Sports He shoots skeet at international level alongside his driving. He was fourth at the 2004 Olympics, and at London 2012 he won the bronze medal after a shoot-off. He has taken Asian Games gold in the team event twice, and held world records in the discipline between 2005 and 2012.

Rallying He began in the Middle East Rally Championship in 2003, a series he has now won nineteen times, and won the Production World Rally Championship in 2006 with the co-driver Chris Patterson. He took the WRC-2 title in both 2014 and 2015, and reached the top division of the World Rally Championship in 2012.

The Dakar He first entered in 2004 with Mitsubishi and finished tenth. He has been runner-up five times, once by 2 minutes 12 seconds — the closest finish in the rally’s history. His wins have come with Volkswagen, Mini, Toyota and, in 2026, Dacia, and his co-driver is Mathieu Baumel.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Nasser Al-Attiyah

Chapter 01

Doha to the Desert

He was born in Doha in December 1970 and was drawn into racing by Jackie Stewart’s book Winning Is Not Enough. He started in the Middle East Rally Championship in 2003 and has dominated it ever since, with sixty-five event wins and nineteen titles — the nineteenth, in 2023, shared with Abdullah Al-Rawahi after the two men scored identical results across five rounds. He contested the Production World Rally Championship from 2004 and won it in 2006 in a Subaru Impreza with the co-driver Chris Patterson, having led the class from a second place in Mexico and then won in Argentina and Greece. Two seasons in Super 2000 followed, a year in the top division of the World Rally Championship in 2012 with a best of fourth in Portugal, and then WRC-2 titles in both 2014 and 2015. His first Dakar came in 2004 with Mitsubishi and brought tenth place; three years with X-raid’s BMW followed, the best of them sixth in 2007.

Nasser Al-Attiyah driving on the Laajavuori special stage during Rally Finland in 2010. Rally Finland · Laajavuori, 2010 Photo: Nasser Al-Attiyah, Rally Finland (2010) by kallerna / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 02

Two Minutes Twelve

The 2009 Dakar ended in disqualification: running near the front with the Swedish co-driver Tina Thörner, he was thrown out on 8 January for missing nine checkpoints against a limit of four. A year later he finished second, 2 minutes and 12 seconds behind Carlos Sainz — the smallest winning margin in the history of the race. On 15 January 2011 he won it, ahead of his fellow Volkswagen drivers Sainz and Giniel de Villiers, the first Arab driver to take the Dakar. A second win came in 2015 in an X-raid Mini All4 Racing, in a year when he also took the world cross-country title with five event victories, and a third in 2019 with Toyota Gazoo Racing, the season he won the Silk Way Rally and finished second in the Baja 1000.

Nasser Al-Attiyah with his co-driver Mathieu Baumel in May 2015, the year of his second Dakar Rally victory. With co-driver Mathieu Baumel · 2015 Photo: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel (2015) by Lucas Martínez Farrapeira / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (resized) · licence
Chapter 03

Loeb, and the Sixth

In 2022 the Dakar was run in Saudi Arabia and he won it ahead of Sébastien Loeb, the nine-time world rally champion — the first Arab driver to win the rally on Arab soil — and took the inaugural World Rally-Raid Championship in the same year. He beat Loeb again in 2023 for a fifth Dakar win and defended the world title, with Mathieu Baumel beside him. A retirement with BRX in 2024 and fourth place on his first year with Dacia in 2025 preceded a sixth victory in 2026. Alongside all of it he has shot skeet for Qatar at six Olympic Games: fourth at Athens in 2004, and at London in 2012 the bronze medal, won in a shoot-off against Valeriy Shomin. He has twice taken Asian Games gold in the team event and held world records in the discipline between 2005 and 2012. He is a distant relative of the Emir of Qatar.

Nasser Al-Attiyah shooting skeet in 2011, the year before he won Olympic bronze in the discipline at London 2012. Skeet shooting · 2011 Photo: Nasser Al-Attiyah, skeet shooting (2011) by Doha Stadium Plus Qatar from Doha, Qatar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Career Timeline

Nasser Al-Attiyah Career Timeline: 1970–Present

Born in Doha

Nasser Al-Attiyah is born on 21 December in Doha, Qatar.

Middle East Rally

Begins in the Middle East Rally Championship, which he goes on to win nineteen times.

Two Debuts

Tenth on his first Dakar, and fourth in skeet at the Athens Olympics.

Production World Champion

Wins the Production World Rally Championship in a Subaru.

Disqualified

Thrown out of the Dakar for missing nine checkpoints.

Two Minutes Twelve

Second at the Dakar by the smallest margin in the rally’s history.

First Dakar Win

Wins the Dakar for Volkswagen, the first Arab driver to do so.

Olympic Bronze

Wins bronze in skeet shooting at the London Olympics.

WRC-2

Takes the WRC-2 title with four wins, and defends it the following year.

Second Dakar

Wins the Dakar with an X-raid Mini.

Third Dakar

Wins with Toyota, along with the Silk Way Rally.

Saudi Arabia

Wins the Dakar on Arab soil ahead of Sébastien Loeb, and the first W2RC title.

Fifth Dakar

Beats Loeb again and defends the world rally-raid championship.

Sixth Dakar

Wins the Dakar for Dacia.

By the Numbers

Nasser Al-Attiyah Dakar Rally Record, Year by Year

Nasser Al-Attiyah season-by-season record: team, class, stage wins, stage wins to date, dakar wins and final standing.
SeasonTeam Class Stage Wins Stage Wins to Date Dakar Wins Pos.
2004 Mitsubishi Car 0 0 0 10
2005 BMW Car 0 0 0 DNF
2006 BMW Car 0 0 0 DNF
2007 BMW Car 1 1 0 6
2008 — Not held – – – –
2009 BMW Car 2 3 0 DSQ
2010 Volkswagen Car 4 7 0 2
2011 Volkswagen Car 4 11 1 1
2012 Hummer Car 2 13 1 DNF
2013 Demon Jefferies Car 3 16 1 DNF
2014 Mini Car 2 18 1 3
2015 Mini Car 5 23 2 1
2016 Mini Car 2 25 2 2
2017 Toyota Car 1 26 2 DNF
2018 Toyota Car 4 30 2 2
2019 Toyota Car 3 33 3 1
2020 Toyota Car 1 34 3 2
2021 Toyota Car 6 40 3 2
2022 Toyota Car 3 43 4 1
2023 Toyota Car 3 46 5 1
2024 BRX Car 1 47 5 DNF
2025 Dacia Car 1 48 5 4
2026 Dacia Car 2 50 6 1

Winning years are highlighted; the six highlighted rows are his six Dakar victories and the Dakar Wins column is a running count that closes on 6, matching the published list of 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2026. He has also finished second five times — in 2010, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021 — and the 2010 margin of 2 minutes 12 seconds is the smallest in the rally’s history. Stage wins are counted from the same year-by-year record and come to 50; no published career total exists to check that against, so it is presented as a count rather than a quoted figure. The 2008 row is blank because the rally was cancelled that year and replaced by the Central Europe Rally. His nineteen Middle East Rally Championships, the 2006 Production World Rally Championship, the WRC-2 titles of 2014 and 2015, his eight world cross-country and rally-raid titles and his Olympic shooting career are covered in the biography rather than here. Figures verified 6 September 2026.

Frequently Asked

Nasser Al-Attiyah: Frequently Asked Questions

How many times has Nasser Al-Attiyah won the Dakar Rally?

Six — in 2011 with Volkswagen, 2015 with Mini, 2019, 2022 and 2023 with Toyota, and 2026 with Dacia. He has also finished second five times.

Was Nasser Al-Attiyah the first Arab driver to win the Dakar?

Yes. His 2011 victory was the first by an Arab driver, and his 2022 win, in Saudi Arabia, was the first by an Arab driver on Arab soil.

Did Nasser Al-Attiyah win an Olympic medal?

Yes, bronze in men’s skeet shooting at the London Olympics in 2012, won in a shoot-off against Valeriy Shomin. He has competed at six Olympic Games and was fourth at Athens in 2004.

What is the closest finish in Dakar Rally history?

The 2010 car category, which Al-Attiyah lost to Carlos Sainz by 2 minutes and 12 seconds after two weeks of racing.

Why was Nasser Al-Attiyah disqualified from the 2009 Dakar?

For missing nine checkpoints, against a limit of four. He was running near the front at the time, with the Swedish co-driver Tina Thörner.

Who is Nasser Al-Attiyah’s co-driver?

Mathieu Baumel, who has sat beside him through the Toyota and Dacia years. Earlier co-drivers include Tina Thörner and, in the World Rally Championship, Chris Patterson.

What has Nasser Al-Attiyah won besides the Dakar?

Eight world cross-country rally and rally-raid titles, including the inaugural World Rally-Raid Championship in 2022; the Production World Rally Championship in 2006; the WRC-2 title in 2014 and 2015; nineteen Middle East Rally Championships; and the Silk Way Rally in 2019.

Has Nasser Al-Attiyah raced against Sébastien Loeb?

Yes, and beaten him twice at the Dakar — in 2022 and again in 2023, both times with Loeb second overall.

What cars has Nasser Al-Attiyah driven at the Dakar?

Mitsubishi in 2004, BMW from 2005 to 2009, Volkswagen in 2010 and 2011, a Hummer in 2012 and a Demon Jefferies in 2013, Mini from 2014 to 2016, Toyota from 2017 to 2023, BRX in 2024, and Dacia since 2025.

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Dakar Rally · Amaury Sport Organisation (official)
  2. Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile · FIA (official)
  3. Nasser al-Attiyah · Wikipedia
  4. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Q316739) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

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