Stephane Peterhansel moved into the lead of the Dakar Rally on Friday, despite the X-raid team calling off the fight for victory on the previous day.
The Frenchman trailed team-mate Nani Roma by over five minutes going into Friday’s 12th stage from El Salvador to La Serena, and the team had decided it did not want to take any risks. However, Peterhansel won Friday’s stage and overtook Roma at the top of the standings.
He now leads the Spaniard by 26 seconds ahead of Saturday’s final stage. Peterhansel’s was his fourth stage victory of the rally. He finished over three minutes ahead of Nasser At-Attiyah and almost six ahead of Roma, who was third.
KTM’s Marc Coma looks set for a victory in the motorcycles category as closest competitor Joan Barreda Bort hit trouble on the penultimate stage to drop back to seventh overall.