Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah claimed his second Dakar Rally stage win in three days as Mini teammate Stephane Peterhansel took a huge step towards overall victory with a runner-up finish.
Peterhansel, six times a winner in the motorbike section and five times in the cars event, finished second on the 10th stage behind Al Attiyah to move to just over two minutes adrift of overall leader Nani Roma.
For Al Attiyah it was a second stage win this week but the 46-year-old Peterhansel celebrated eating further into Roma’s lead.
He trailed the Spaniard by 40 minutes after the fifth stage but made significant moves on Tuesday and Wednesday and, with just three stages remaining, appears to have the momentum.
Earlier, Spanish rally great Carlos Sainz abandoned the race after crashing and injuring himself. The 51-year-old two-time world rally champion and winner of the Dakar in 2010 was taken to the rally medical centre, according to event organisers. His vehicle, an SMG buggy, was badly damaged forcing his out.
“He was slightly injured and evacuated to the medical centre at the Antofagasta bivouac (where the stage finished),” said the organisers. Sainz, nicknamed the ‘Matador’ for his aggressive style of driving, was way off the pace even before the stage, trailing compatriot Roma by 3hrs 28mins.
In the motorcycle section, Spanish rider Joan Barreda won his third stage of this year’s edition but remains a long shot to win the Rally itself.
The 30-year-old Honda rider remains second in the overall standings almost 45 minutes behind his compatriot Marc Coma, who was fifth on the day.
Barreda finished in front of Portuguese Helder Rodrigues while five-time Dakar winner Cyril Despres of France was third.
Russia’s Sergey Karyakin was the fastest in the quads class, while in the trucks category Aleš Loprais (Tatra) won his first stage yesterday, beating Andrey Karginov (Kamaz) by 37sec. Gerard de Rooy (Iveco) completed the podium.
