Rallying-Champion Al-Attiyah shooting for his sixth Dakar title

January 9 saw the 2023 Dakar Rally take a brief pause for rest and repairs. After one week of challenging action, Dakar Rally competitors had 24 hours on Monday to recover and tune up their vehicles for the second week of racing. Defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah is leading in the car category. // Nasser Al-Attiyah of Toyota Gazoo Racing during rest day of Dakar 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on January 9, 2023 // DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool/File Photo

(Reuters) - Nasser Al-Attiyah hopes to be shooting for a medal at his seventh Olympics later in the year but the Qatari's immediate sights are set on winning the Dakar Rally for the sixth time and third in a row.

The 53-year-old rally driver, a skeet (clay pigeon) bronze medallist at the 2012 Games, has yet to qualify for Paris but sets out on Friday as a favourite at the wheel in the Saudi desert.