Carlos Sainz loses a lead to the Frenchman Peterhansel

Al-Attiyah wins the second stage of the Dakar Rally

photo_camera AFP/FRANCK FIFE - Qatari Toyota driver Nasser al-Attiyah

Carlos Sainz's big day was not enough to win the second stage of the Dakar Rally. The Spaniard paid dearly for starting ahead of his two great rivals in the competition: the Qatari Sheikh Nasser al-Attiyah and the Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel. Both have finished ahead on a day where the three have proved to be the masters of the dunes. The details alone made the difference in a stage that ran from Bisha to Wadi al-Dawasir, 685 kilometres across the Saudi Arabian desert.

Al-Attiyah's partial victory, 9 minutes and 27 seconds ahead of Sainz and 2 minutes and 35 seconds ahead of the Gaul, caused the Spaniard to lose the lead. Sainz's fall to second place in the general standings comes at a disadvantage of 6 minutes and 37 seconds to the new leader Stéphane Peterhansel. The winner of the stage, Al-Attiyah, maintains the third position at 9 minutes from the leader.

Sainz explained that they suffered power problems in the engine of their Mini during the last part of the stage and made a navigation error that led them to lose the lead. "In the last 100 kilometres we have had an engine ignition problem, which was losing a lot of power," said the three-time champion.

The day was more complicated for the other Spanish driver, Nani Roma, who lost 35 minutes today. His name appears more than 40 minutes away in the general classification. In addition, he has lost some ground to his team-mate, the Frenchman Sebastian Loeb, who also appears behind in the general classification over the favourite trio, but who has been riding at a pace more typical of the nine times champion in this last stage.

El piloto español Carlos Sainz con Mini
Spanish victory in motorbikes

Spaniard Joan Barreda is, for his part, the new leader in the motorbike category of the Dakar rally after winning the second stage of the 457-kilometre special between Bisha and Wadi al-Dawasir, ahead of American Ricky Brabec and Chilean Pablo Quintanilla.

The Spanish Honda rider, who lost more than 15 minutes the day before, snatched first place from Australian Toby Price; he dominated from start to finish the second stage and was ahead of Brabec and Quintanilla at the finish by 3 minutes and 35 seconds and 6 minutes and 2 seconds respectively.

Barreda added his 25th victory in a Dakar and equaled the Spanish Marc Coma in the fourth position of the classification of number of special victories in motorbikes. In the general standings, the Honda rider is the leader with a 6 minute and 23 second difference to Ricky Brabec, and 6 minutes and 37 seconds with Ross Branch from Botswana. It was a master class for Barreda, an exhibition that allowed him to make up for lost time during the first stage to take him to the top. The Spaniard has known how to take advantage of his starting position, without opening a track, and from the first moment he has been making a difference to all his rivals. 

Other Spaniards like Lorenzo Santolino or Oriol Mena have not had the same luck. Both riders have seen their options drastically reduced after suffering a complicated start from the top of the stage. The Spaniard Laia Sanz, for her part, has managed to reach the finish line with serious problems and is now almost an hour away from her compatriot.

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