Sainz maintains Dakar lead
01/10/2010 10:11:08 PM
Stephane Peterhansel won stage eight of the Dakar Rally on Sunday but Carlos Sainz finished second to maintain his overall lead.
Peterhansel (X-raid) is all but out of contention for the overall lead because of technical problems on Wednesday, but came in 45 seconds ahead of Spaniard Sainz in his Volkswagen Touareg in the 472km stage between Antofagasta and Copiapo.
The win was Peterhansel's third of this year's rally, and 21st in a car.
It was also his 54th in all categories - a Dakar record.
VW driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, second in the overall standings, came in third and is now 14 minutes 35 seconds behind Sainz, while American Mark Miller, third overall, was also third on Sunday.
In the bikes, Marc Coma recovered from a difficult day on Friday to finish second behind Chilean rider Contardo Lopez.
Coma threatened to withdraw from the rally when he was given a six-hour penalty for illegally changing a tyre.
He was 42 seconds behind Lopez, leaving him 7:00.49 behind Cyril Despres in the overall standings. Despres was fifth.