SHEIKH KHALID AL QASSIMI AND CYRIL DESPRES FINISHED SEVENTH AND TENTH RESPECTIVELY
THE EVENT WAS WON BY STÉPHANE PETERHANSEL

ABU DHABI, January 21, 2020:  Abu Dhabi Racing secured two top 10 finishes in the Dakar Rally 2021, which recently came to a conclusion in Saudi Arabia.
The 43rd edition of the rally raid was staged over a 14-day period in Saudi Arabia, which was hosting the event for the second time in its history.
The event started and ended in Jeddah, giving competitors the opportunity to drive through the desert and along the Red Sea, with other destinations on the route including Riyadh, Al Qaisumah and Sakaka.

It was a solid showing from Abu Dhabi Racing, with drivers Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi and Cyril Despres finishing seventh and tenth overall respectively.
Behind the wheel of a Peugeot 3008 DKR, Al Qassimi was alongside his French co-driver Xavier Panseri and recorded an overall finish time of 48H 01' 42''.
His Abu Dhabi Racing team-mate, Frenchman Despres, who was partnered by co-driver Michael Horn, registered a time of 49H 19' 20''.

Depres has a rich pedigree in the Dakar Rally having previously won the event on five separate occasions, in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and, most recently, 2013.
Meanwhile, there was a fifth-place finish for Bahrain Raid Xtreme’s Nani Roma, who finished with a time of 47H 49' 59'', while his team-mate Sebastien Loeb was forced to withdraw at Stage 8.

This year’s Dakar Rally was won by Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, who was racing for X-Raid MINI JCW Team, and completed the event in a time of 44H 28' 11''.
Competitors in this year’s event drove a total distance of 7,646 kilometres over the course of the 12 separate stages.