Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar has won the Dakar Rally a record fifth time and twice in a row.

Nasser Al-Attiyah, a 52-year-old Qatari driver, won his second straight and fifth aggregate Dakar Rally driver's title as the legendary endurance test came to a close in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Sebastien Loeb of France, who finished second last year as well, was more than an hour behind him in the overall standings after he lost three stages to him.

Al-at Attiyah's Toyota teammate representing Brazil, Lucas Moraes, finished third. After the third stage, Al-Attiyah assumed overall control after establishing a significant lead over the first week and utilizing a safety-first approach in the latter stages of the race.

"We recently completed, and I'm overjoyed. Everyone had a challenging Dakar, according to Al-Attiyah.

"It's insane that I was able to keep my championship. My five victories, alongside Mathieu's four (his co-driver Mathieu Baumel), make me very delighted. Mathieu, I'm sorry.

"We didn't really do have to launch a furious onslaught. What matters most is that we made it through the second week and ultimately won the Dakar.

But Loeb gave it everything he had and, representing the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team, set a record by winning six straight stages. The Frenchman, 48, had lost so much time in the opening leg of the race that it seemed hopeless.

Stephane Peterhansel, a Frenchman and eight-time winner, and Carlos Sainz, a Spaniard, are two of the main contenders.

Al-Attiyah wins his second title in a row as the test of endurance ends in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Qatar's Nasser al-Attiyah won his fifth Dakar Rally driver's title and second in a row after the iconic test of endurance finished in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

an 15 (Reuters) - Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah won the Dakar Rally car crown for the fifth time on Sunday while Argentine KTM rider Kevin Benavides triumphed on two wheels to take his second title in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Attiyah, the reigning champion for Toyota with French co-driver Mathieu Baumel, finished the final 14th stage to Dammam on the Gulf coast with a lead of an hour and 20 minutes over France's nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb.

The Frenchman, Stephane Peterhansel, who won the vehicle category eight times, currently ranks ahead of the Qatari, who took the lead from stage three as competitors fell into problems.

The Qatari, who led from stage three as rivals hit trouble, now ranks second in the list of all-time winners in the car category behind eight times champion Stephane Peterhansel of France.

Peterhansel, the "Mr Dakar" who retired from this year's edition after crashing his electric hybrid Audi, has also won the motorcycle crown six times.

It was really a tough Dakar for everybody but we managed to win again. It's amazing to defend our title. I am happy to win five times, Mathieu four times now," said Al-Attiyah.

"We need to keep going and to win more and more. We finished Dakar and we try to defend our world championship," added the reigning FIA Rally-Raid (W2RC) world champion.

"We didn't need to really push, to be crazy. We need to accept what we get. Just to finish and win the Dakar is very important to me."

Loeb had won a record six stages in a row up to Sunday for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team but compatriot Guerlain Chicherit took the final honours in Dammam.

Yes, it's difficult to accept right now, but at the end of the day, he added, "I'm going home in one piece and we won a Dakar trophy." "It stings a little."

Howes, on the other hand, was overjoyed.

How could I possibly not be joyful? Howes, who finished in the top three and became the fifth American to do so, stated.

"You can always reflect and think, 'Aw, dude, maybe I could have spared this here and here,' but we made it to the finish line without incident, and I placed third.

"Sharing the podium alongside two legends like Toby and Kevin is such a dream come true, and it is an honor. The feeling is the most surreal.

Along the process, a number of the title candidates, including last