Stage Five: Sainz on form
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ByEurosport
Published 10/01/2007 at 14:27 GMT
Carlos Sainz extended his lead in the Dakar Rally to three and a half minutes with his second stage victory of the race. The Spaniard was quickest over the stage five haul from Ouarzazate to Tan Tan in southern Morocco, while fellow Spaniard Isidre Esteve
Rally Raid Dakar 2007 VW Carlos Sainz stage 3
Image credit: From Official Website
Sainz produced a consistent drive, guiding his VW Touareg up the standings and thriving on the speedy final section of the stage.
Stephane Peterhansel needed a big performance after dropping 25 minutes on stage four because of a clutch problem in his Mitsubishi.
He started brilliantly, going fastest over difficult, rocky terrain on the opening section, but struggled to fifth place at the 163km checkpoint.
The Frenchman responded with a brilliant final section, and overhauled everybody except Sainz to put himself back in the running overall.
Guerlain Chicherit looked set to cause a huge stir when he led into the second half of the day, but the BMW X3 man faded into sixth place, which is where he also lies overall.
Stage four winner Jean-Louis Schlesser was unable to conjure a second successive day of magic, and was ninth.
Portugal's Carlos Sousa remains third, 11 minutes back, after a sixth-place finish in Tan Tan.
Motorcycles - Spanish duo on top
Spanish dominance of the motorcycle category continued with another one-two on stage five.
It was roles reversed from the previous day, when Marc Coma led home Isidre Esteve Pujol.
Pujol gained a measure of revenge on his countryman, completing the 325km Ouarzazate to Tan Tan stage in 3:56:22.
However, his 65-second margin of victory was only enough to trim Coma's lead to just below 10 minutes.
Pujol led from start to finish, but Coma will be delighted to have kept it close, meanwhile taking another three minutes out of Cyril Despres.
Third placed Frenchman David Casteu could do no better than eighth, surrendering another 15 minutes.
Even as early as stage five, the Dakar crown looks as though it could come to a straight fight between the two Spaniards.
Trucks - Chagin chagrin
Vladimir Chagin's hold on first place in the truck standings was loosened when he lost 20 minutes as a result of a blocked fuel intake.
The Russian KAMAZ man stopped just after 150km, allowing Hans Stacey through to take the stage win.
It was a just reward for Stacey, who missed out on victory on stage four due to mechanical difficulties of his own.
Thursday's stage six takes in 817km, including a 394km special from Tan Tan through Western Sahara, into Mauritania.
Follow it all LIVE on eurosport.com from 11:00 CET (10:00 GMT), with the action on the special itself starting at 12:05 CET (11:05 GMT)!
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