Nani Roma has retaken the Dakar Rally lead today as he became the first driver to win more than one stage in the cars category; the Spaniard went quickest on the rally’s fifth stage, crossing the finish line after 4 hours and 27 minutes. Mr. Consistency, Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah was fifth quickest and moved up to P2 in the process.
Carlos Sainz, who took the lead yesterday, dropped back to sixth place overall after finishing today’s stage 16th fastest. Toyota driver Giniel de Villiers was the second quickest man today, he, Stephane Peterhansel and Orlando Terranova all benefited from Sainz’s to gain one position; they are fifth, fourth and third respectively.
Marc Coma, the three times winner of the event, put distance between himself and his rivals on the day’s stage to lead the overall motorcycle standings; the Spaniard finished in 3 hours and 2 minutes, his closest pursuer being fellow countryman Jordi Viladoms. Joan Barreda Bort had a tough day, ending the stage in 17th and dropping back to 2nd overall.
Gerard de Rooy remains in the trucks category lead despite losing time to Andreey Karginov; Ignacio Casalse retook the quad category lead after finishing 40 minutes ahead of Rafal Sonik who’s now in P3 overall.