Al-Attiyah wins third leg to inch closer towards Andalucia title

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel in action at the Andalucia Rally in Spain

Qatar’s rally ace Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah edged closer to defending his title at the Andalucia Rally in Spain after he won the third and penultimate leg on Saturday. Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver Matthieu Baumel in Toyota Hilux emerged fastest in the 283km route in 3:12.38 seconds. Going into today’s 284km final leg, Al-Attiyah and Baumel hold a 4.43-second lead over local pair Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz. Saturday, Sainz and Cruz finished third in Mini Cooper behind Saudi’s Yazeed al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz, who were behind the wheel of Toyota Hilux. Meanwhile, Nasser's brother Khalifa al-Attiyah (South Racing) was on course to winning the T4 category. Al-Attiyah and co-driver Xavier Panseri, who had won the first and second leg, finished third on Saturday in their Can Am Maverick XRS.