Attiyah brought smiles on the faces of Saudi Arabian rally organizers by confirming that he will take part in next week's Ha'il Desert Challenge in his factory Volkswagen Race Touareg. The FIA-sanctioned event takes place in the north-central region of the Kingdom from Feb. 8-10. Al-Attiyah made history last month by becoming the first Arab driver to win the prestigious Dakar Rally. The Qatari is taking part in the Qatar International Rally in Doha this week at the wheel of a Ford Fiesta S2000, but will travel straight to Ha'il from Qatar in an bid to win the Saudi event for the second time in four years. Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel dominated the Baja across the An-Nafud desert in 2008 at the wheel of an X-raid BMW X3 CC and Al-Attiyah went on to win the FIA Baja Cup and FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies that season. Al-Attiyah will team up with Germany's experienced co-driver Timo Gottschalk in Saudi Arabia. The pair worked superbly together on the Dakar to claim a stunning victory for the Volkswagen team in Buenos Aires. Gottschalk, however, will be making his first appearance in Saudi Arabia. The Race Touareg has been airfreighted into Qatar and should ensure that Al-Attiyah starts as a clear favorite to prevent Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Al-Rajhi from claiming a hat trick of victories on his home event. “I will use the car in which I won the Dakar,” said Al-Attiyah, speaking before taking part in the first day of reconnaissance for the 2011 Qatar International Rally Tuesday. “It was flown to Doha to be on display at the Qatar Motor Show last week and will now go to Saudi Arabia with my truck and a crew of Volkswagen mechanics, Timo and myself. I am very excited about being able to use this car in Ha'il.” The Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) is delighted to have attracted over 40 cars on the provisional entry list for the Kingdom's premier off-road rally. Saudi drivers make up the bulk of the field, but there are registered competitors from England, Germany, Wales, France, Qatar, the UAE, Lebanon, Oman and Kuwait. The event is being organized by the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation (SAMF) under the patronage of Prince Saud Bin Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Ha'il, President of the Supreme Commission for Ha'il Development and the Head of the Supreme Commission of the Ha'il Rally and the Presidency of Prince Sultan Bin Bandar Al-Faisal. The winner will receive SR100,000 (approx $28,000), with SR50,000 offered to the runner-up. The winner of the T2 category will earn himself SR30,000, with SR20,000 being awarded to the runner-up and SR10,000 to third overall. Scrutineering and documentation will take place on Feb. 7, while competitive action gets under way with a timed super special stage after the official starting ceremony on Feb. 8. Legs two and three will run through the An-Nafud Desert to the north and west of Ha'il on Feb. 9 and 10. __
