Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and co-driver Matthieu Baumel emerged unscathed from yesterday’s 147.94km sixth stage of Rally Kazakhstan to secure overall victory by a margin of 7min 43sec and take the outright lead in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

After moving into the lead on day two of the 2,500km event, the Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux duo were never able to rest on their laurels on demanding special stages laid on across the Mangystau oblast. The quickest time on the final stage was sufficient for Al Attiyah to seal his third win of the season after victories in Dubai and Qatar.

Al Attiyah said: “A great result for us. We played it smart from the very start. We pushed when we had to and had the right strategy.

“It was a really enjoyable rally, fantastic, and I am sure many more drivers will come in the future. Now we lead the championship and try to keep on like this.”

Poland’s Jakub Przygonski and Tom Colsoul delivered a second successive runner-up position on a long-distance round of the FIA World Cup and pressurised Al Attiyah hard. They led after day one and never gave the Qatari the opportunity to ease his pace. Przygonski climbs to third in the standings.

Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk won three of the event’s six selective sections but an accident and broken suspension on day one put paid to the Saudi challenging for the overall victory. He delivered an impressive performance nonetheless and reached Aktau in 11th overall.