Nasser Al-Attiyah to drive buggy built by own team Dakar 2013

Sounds like Nasser took a liking to the Hummers. Vehicle features listed are pretty much same charactoristics that make the Hummers unique. Can't wait to see the reliability of his own brand new vehicles are :)

http://www.dakarrallyraid.com/more-dakar-action-for-al-attiyah/

Credit RDC

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Permalink Reply by Team Maranello on September 27, 2012 at 10:23pm

Only VW could build him a bullet proof tank. Besides, dakar is as much about back up logistic as it is about saving equiptment. Unless, he has buy a whole back up crew from the factory teams, there is plenty of learning there. It took a while for Robby to learn the scale of this race.

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Permalink Reply by will on September 28, 2012 at 7:05pm

Very good point. Anybody with a check book can make it to the starting line. A big 'ol bank balance does not mean one has the logistics figured out, it helps but how long have the winners been doing this...

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Permalink Reply by Short Bus on September 27, 2012 at 10:56pm

He's preparing 2 cars. The second driver isn't announced yet but Nasser suggests "why not Carlos Sainz? " That would be very interesting. When they were at VW together they seemed to not like each other.

Wouldn't it be funny if he hired Robby for the second one. He won't find any better in this type of car.

I am really excited to see what he comes up with. I'd love to see someone prove the long travel 2wd theory actually works and can win Dakar.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Martinez on September 28, 2012 at 12:11am

Rah Rah Rah Zip Boom Bah was the battle cry at the start of last years Dakar in reference to Nas. Sure events and happenings started to sour the grapes we/you/us/Robs fans already had in our mouths with the dis-loyal, selfish, pressing obligations departure but I have to say the guy no doubt is going to attract, pay and land some top quaility people as far as logistics when it comes to his entry as a whole. I'm sure with no shortage of coin there will be folks tripping over themselves to hitch their collective wagons to his star...............so by no means make a mockery or short change what his "first entry" will be. Am I big giant closet fan of his NO. Do I often wonder if the moon i'm lookin at is the same one other people see ?? SURE. Some of the observations and conclusions drawn remind me of a pack of kids waiting to get into gym class. What baffles me and please don't grab the joystick right away and scream about how America is a weak Dakar audience but what baffles me is why there is no American corporate presence pushing "our man" over the top? Not that nobody is trying but damn. The frogs got us not Nasser.

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Permalink Reply by Donald Hennagin on September 28, 2012 at 1:00pm

No matter how much $$ Nasser brings, he doesn't have enough self control to manage the equipment. Yes it will be fun to watch as in any train wreck! Of course there will be some quality people that will jump on his team to make a quick buck, but this doesn't replace the experience of going thru multiple Dakar's like RG team has without factory support. RG has fine tuned the crew and support equipment every year. Nasser has proven he has little to no mechanical skills and at the end of the day he has to finish each stage. He better choose a navigator wisely because they will be responsible for making all the repairs on course and there will be many. And the second driver will have to be some yes man that is willing to follow Nasser with a boat load of spares and help with the repairs as well. Can't wait to find out if RG is going to run Dakar. He will spank the spoiled prince as if he was driving a Mini!

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Permalink Reply by ROBERT SAVAGE on September 28, 2012 at 1:47pm

Who in SoCal has the ability to build 2 Dakar cars? RG! How much he will pay would help RGM . then it comes down to the better driver. Who is that? RG! Either way this could benifit RGM. Why didn't they say who and where these cars are being built? Only one I can think of in SoCal is RGM OR A subsidiary.

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Permalink Reply by ivanspeed on September 28, 2012 at 11:11pm

JIMCO built score/dakar rigs in the past very ugly ones with no style but they consist of the same idea RG has been using

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Permalink Reply by BAD on September 28, 2012 at 2:26pm

Got to agree with Kenneth E - the guy is crazy fast and will give a good show. Whether or not the equipment will hold up is another story. Chevy V-8s will be a good combo and better than the factory teams - diesel and little 4 bangers... The way I look at, if the guy can get funding and enjoys this type of racing, bring him on.

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Permalink Reply by m0ut33 on December 10, 2012 at 9:14am

Red Bull Team

Jefferies Racing

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Permalink Reply by Bob on December 10, 2012 at 4:16pm

Like it or not, having these two entries in the Dakar is going to make things a whole lot more interesting, particularly if they turn out to be competitive, and can run for a while without falling out.

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Permalink Reply by Vlad Rogers on December 10, 2012 at 4:52pm

This post was in September, Im assuming Nasser is still racing the buggies?

If the buggies and Hummer are successful, how will this change the competition in future years? Less Minis, and more SCORE type vehicles?

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Permalink Reply by Bob on December 14, 2012 at 11:35pm

One big difference would seem to be that the buggy- type vehicles don't really pretend to resemble street cars. Just look at those things that Nasser is driving. It's my sense that the Dakar has always had a role in showcasing various factory entries. Which may be an OK premise, if that's the organizers intention. But my personal feeling is that the organizers will take some kind of step if buggies begin win things overall.

Fine to have the factory entries feel some pressure, as it makes things more suspenseful and entertaining , but I can't see the organizers allowing the Dakar to transform itself into some kind of a buggy race.