FRANCES'S Dakar Rally legend Stephane Peterhansel took a huge step towards winning the race for a 12th time after finishing second in Wednesday's 10th stage.The standings from and after day 10, from Marathon Rally:
Peterhansel, six times a winner in the motorbike section and five times in the cars event, finished second in his Mini in the stage behind Qatar's former winner Nasser Al-Attiyah to move to just over two minutes adrift of overall leader Nani Roma.
For Al-Attiyah it was a second stage win in three days but the 46-year-old Peterhansel celebrated eating further into Roma's lead.
Peterhansel, six times a winner in the motorbike section and five times in the cars event, finished second in his Mini in the stage behind Qatar's former winner Nasser Al-Attiyah to move to just over two minutes adrift of overall leader Nani Roma.
For Al-Attiyah it was a second stage win in three days 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 then 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.
"He was slightly injured and evacuated to the medical centre at the Antofagasta bivouac (where the stage finished)," said the organisers.
Cars daily results SS10 Iquique-Antofagasta 446 km
| PL | DRIVER / CODRIVER | RALLYCAR | TIME | DIFF |
| 01 | Al Attiyah / Cruz (QT/ES) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 04:23:35 | 00:00:00 |
| 02 | Peterhansel / Cottret (F/F) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 04:27:25 | 00:03:50 |
| 03 | Roma / Perin (ES/F) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 04:37:20 | 00:13:45 |
| 04 | De Villiers / Von Zitzewitz (RSA/D) | Toyota Hilux Imperial | 04:51:50 | 00:28:15 |
| 05 | Holowczyc / Zhiltsov (PL/RUS) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 04:54:48 | 00:31:13 |
| 06 | Vasilyev / Yevtyekhov (RUS/RUS) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 04:56:57 | 00:33:22 |
| 07 | Terranova / Fiuza (ARG/PT) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 04:57:23 | 00:33:48 |
| 08 | Alvarez / Graue (ARG/ARG) | Ford Ranger Proto | 05:06:36 | 00:43:01 |
| 09 | Villagra / Companc-Perez (ARG/ARG) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 05:08:41 | 00:45:06 |
| 10 | Lavieille / Garcin (F/F) | Great Wall Haval | 05:13:09 | 00:49:34 |
Cars overall results after SS10 Iquique-Antofagasta 446 km
| PL | DRIVER / CODRIVER | RALLYCAR | TIME | DIFF |
| 01 | Roma / Perin (ES/F) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 38:52:57 | 00:00:00 |
| 02 | Peterhansel / Cottret (F/F) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 38:55:12 | 00:02:15 |
| 03 | Al Attiyah / Cruz (QT/ES) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 39:38:58 | 00:46:01 |
| 04 | De Villiers / Von Zitzewitz (RSA/D) | Toyota Hilux Imperial | 40:07:13 | 01:14:16 |
| 05 | Terranova / Fiuza (ARG/PT) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 40:07:33 | 01:14:26 |
| 06 | Holowczyc / Zhiltsov (PL/RUS) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 42:10:28 | 03:17:31 |
| 07 | Dabrowski / Czachor (PL) | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | 42:56:54 | 04:03:57 |
| 08 | Lavieille / Garcin (F/F) | Great Wall Haval | 43:25:42 | 04:32:45 |
| 09 | Malysz / Marton (PL/PL) | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | 43:44:00 | 04:51:03 |
| 10 | Kaczmarski / Palmeiro (PL/PT) | X-raid Mini All4 Racing | 44:26:51 | 05:33:54 |
