LA RIOJA, Argentina — Stephane Peterhansel held on to his commanding lead in the car category of the Dakar Rally after finishing third in Tuesday’s 10th stage.
The Frenchman, in prime position to win his 11th Dakar title, had few problems on the 221.83-mile (357 kilometers) stage from Cordoba to La Rioja in northern Argentina.
Argentine Orlando Terranova won the stage with Joan Roma of Spain finishing second, 2 minutes, 7 seconds behind. Peterhansel was 12 seconds further back.
Peterhansel leads Giniel de Villiers of South Africa by 52:38 in the overall standings.
In a closer contest in the bikes, defending champion Cyril Despres regained the overall lead, 1:37 in front of KTM teammate Ruben Faria and 13:14 ahead of Francisco Lopez of Chile.
Spanish rider Joan Barreda Bort won the stage, 1:15 ahead of Despres and 2:44 in front of Paulo Goncalves of Portugal. Faria finished eighth.
It was the fourth stage victory in this year’s Dakar for Barreda Bort.
“It’s a shame I had problems with the bike at the start of the rally, otherwise I would have been at the front,” he said.
“Most importantly, I’ve never made any navigation mistakes. I’ve always been out in front at a good pace. I’ve been doing well on several stages. All in all, on this rally consistency is the key.”
Despres said Barreda Bort was keeping him motivated.
“You can’t slow down,” he said. “I managed to keep the pace. The bike again worked well and suffered less than yesterday. It’s always nice to speed along over 360 kilometers without scaring myself.”
The Dakar wraps up on Sunday in the Chilean capital Santiago. – AP
