Dakar Rally legend Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah of Qatar took an early lead in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge yesterday after topping the 7-kilometre Prologue, intended as a warm-up leg ahead of the 5-day rally. Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel timed four minutes and forty-five seconds. Today the first of five demanding stages will be held through the desert of the Al Dhafra region in a route of 2,170km leading to the rally finish Friday afternoon.