Sainz wins his first stage and extends lead in overall standings

Sainz finally did it. The Spanish driver - who has finished second in six of the stages since the start in Buenos Aires – clinched his first stage victory ahead of France’s Stephane Peterhansel (BMW) and Mark Miller (Volkswagen) from the United States.

Sainz was probably not aiming to win the stage today, as his Qatari team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah led a fight back yesterday in the overall rankings. On the tracks between La Serena and Santiago, Sainz regained one minute and forty seconds on Al-Attiyah to now lead the Dakar Rally with over ten minutes to spare on his closest rival.

One more for Coma

In the motorbike race, Marc Coma claimed his fourth stage win of this Dakar edition beating France’s David Fretigne (Yamaha) and Portugal’s Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha). In the overall standings, France’s Cyril Despres still holds on firmly to the top spot, one hour and 22 minutes ahead of Norway’s second-placed Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM).

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