Nani Roma went quickest of all on Dakar 2014’s third day of running; the Spaniard finished Tuesday’s special stage in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 52 seconds to take the overall lead from Stephane Peterhansel who dropped back to fifth overall.
Despite being the second quickest man today, Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc is in eighth position overall, just one position up from yesterday. Nasser Al Attiyah, on the other hand, has been the most consistent of the frontrunners; he was seventh quickest today, nevertheless, remains third overall.
Third quickest on Tuesday was South African Leeroy Poulter on the Imperial Toyota, followed by Orlando Terranova and Guerlain Chicherit. Carlos Sainz was 18th fastest, which relegated him to fourth overall.
Joan Barreda Bort maintained the motorcycle category lead, he’s now more than 13 minutes ahead of main rivals Cyril Despres and Marc Coma who overcame other competitors to finish second and third respectively; they occupy the same positions in the overall standings.
The Quad category saw Rafal Sonik take the lead, with Marcos Patronelli, yesterday’s leader, retiring from the rally following an accident. Chilean rider Ignacio Casale, the second quickest man today, remains second overall followed by Netherland’s Sebastian Husseini.
Russia’s Andrey Karginov was fastest of the trucks; he lies third overall, 39 minutes behind leader Gerard de Rooy who clocked the second fastest time today. Netherlands’ Marcel Van Vliet is the closest man to de Rooy, trailing his fellow countryman by 18 minutes.