22 July

AL-ATTIYAH SECURES SIXTH VICTORY

The 39th edition of the Baja España Aragón has crowned Nasser Al-Attiyah the champion of the car category again, marking his third consecutive win following his 2021 and 2022 victories.

During the second day of competition, Al-Attiyah managed to outperform yesterday’s stage winner, Brazil’s Lucas Moraes, reclaiming the lead in a decisive manner, already in the first special stage on Saturday. The Qatari driver emerged as the day’s fastest and distinguished himself once more in an edition notorious for its toughness. This marks Al-Attiyah’s sixth victory in the Baja España Aragón. He was joined on the podium by Lucas Moraes (Toyota), finishing second at 1’43”, and Spaniard Carlos Sainz (Audi) who finished in a hypothetical third position at 9’17” because Audi competed out of category. The official third place went to Lithuanian driver Vaidotas Zala.

Nasser Al-Attiyah: “I am very happy for this victory, my sixth here in Baja Spain. It’s incredible to have won, it was an edition with record participation, with Audi, Toyota and Ford and with the best drivers in the world. It’s the last Baja race for me with Toyota. I want to thank my team for their work over the last six years and I’m very grateful for everything they have given me.”

Carlos Sainz, making Audi’s debut in this race, was the sole representative of the German team to finish the race. In a commendable performance on the second day of competition, Sainz successfully made up for the more than six-minute gap that distanced him from the podium. Portugal’s Joao Ferreira, who stood third in yesterday’s standings, eventually missed out on a podium finish. Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel had to withdraw from the race at the start of the day due to a power outage caused by a sensor failure. His teammate, Matias Ekström, also dropped out after experiencing a steering pump issue.

In the truck category, Javier Mariezcurrena scored his first-ever Baja España Aragón victory, fending off Martin Macik’s challenge.

In the Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship, Santiago Carnicer took the top spot, finishing 18’46” ahead of Pau Navarro. The third spot in the provisional overall classification went to Portugal’s Joao Franco.