Qatari rally driver Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah boosts FIA World Cup hopes with Hail stage win

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Al-Attiyah’s stage performance boosted his already overwhelming odds of clinching the FIA World Cup title and, heading into the night halt in Hail. (SPA)
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Jakub Przygonski. (Supplied)
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Laia Sanz.
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Michal Goczal. (Supplied)
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Updated 09 December 2021
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Qatari rally driver Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah boosts FIA World Cup hopes with Hail stage win

  • The Toyota Gazoo Racing duo steered their Toyota Hilux to a time of 3hr 20min 01sec

HAIL: Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and French navigator Matthieu Baumel comfortably won the opening 258.14 km selective section of the Hail Cross-Country Rally early on Wednesday.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing duo steered their Toyota Hilux to a time of 3hr 20min 01sec and finished 6min 05sec in front of stage runner-up Denis Krotov.

Al-Attiyah’s stage performance boosted his already overwhelming odds of clinching the FIA World Cup title and, heading into the night halt in Hail, the Qatari found himself 22min 16sec ahead of Toyota team-mate and title rival Lucio Alvarez.

“We started first of the T1 cars, but the T1 2022 specification cars started before us,” Al-Attiyah’s co-driver Baumel said.

“We passed all three of them during the day and we opened the road half the way. It was not an easy stage. The first part was more navigation and off-track and the second part was faster. It was a nice day and we had a good result. We need to win two stages to get the World Cup. That is the goal for this rally.”

The X-raid Mini Buggies of Jakub Przygonski and Sebastien Halpern were third and fifth, sandwiching Vladimir Vasilyev’s BMW X3 in fourth.

“It was quite a nice stage with a lot of camel grass and it was quite soft,” said Przygonski. “We made a navigation mistake and got lost, but we enjoyed it. It was nice.”


Record prize of up to $200k for a 9-darter at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters

Updated 12 min 46 sec ago
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Record prize of up to $200k for a 9-darter at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters

  • Players who complete a perfect leg will receive $100,000, with the chance to double it by hitting the bullseye with a bonus 10th dart
  • 8 Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on 8 of Asia’s top players in the tournament on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City

RIYADH: Players at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in Riyadh next week have a chance to win a record-breaking cash prize for a nine-dart finish, with up to $200,000 up for grabs for a perfect leg.

Eight Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on eight of Asia’s leading players at the tournament, which is part of Riyadh Season, on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City.

Turki Alalshikh, chairperson of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, revealed on Thursday that any player who hits a perfect nine-darter during the event will receive a $100,000 bonus, with the chance to double it through the Riyadh Season Bullseye Challenge.

With the leg already won, the player will throw a 10th dart, and if it hits the bullseye the prize will be doubled to $200,000, the biggest amount ever offered by a PDC-sanctioned event for a nine-darter.

Reigning world champion Luke Littler, who will head the line-up in Riyadh, previously hit a nine-darter on the World Series of Darts stage at the Bahrain Masters in 2024.

He will be joined by 2023/24 world champion Luke Humphries, world championship runner-up Gian van Veen, and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.

The PDC contingent also includes former world champion Gerwyn Price, world No. 7 Stephen Bunting, former UK Open winner Danny Noppert, and 2023 World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall.

Asia will be represented by Singapore veteran Paul Lim, who in 1990 famously threw the first televised World Darts Championship nine-darter, alongside Filipinos Alexis Toylo, Lourence Ilagan and Paolo Nebrida, Japan’s Motomu Sakai, Ryusei Azemoto and Tomoya Goto, and Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung.