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Toyota’s Nasser Al-Attiyah beat Peugeot rival Stephane Peterhansel to top the longest timed special of the 2018 Dakar Rally, as Carlos Sainz edged closer to overall victory.
Al-Attiyah was two minutes quicker than Peterhansel through the 325-mile run between Chilecito and San Juan on the 12th day of the two-week marathon.
X-Raid Mini pair Orlando Terranova and Mikko Hirvonen had led the way during the early miles but soon gave up ground, with Toyota driver Bernhard ten Brinke assuming first place.
The Dutchman was a minute and a half clear when arriving at the 56-mile mid-stage road section, but could not sustain his challenge for a second consecutive stage win and dropped behind Al-Attiyah and Peterhansel when the competitive running resumed.
Al-Attiyah and Peterhansel were neck and neck at that point, but the Qatari pulled clear at the end to record his third stage win of the event.
Peterhansel’s second place was enough to make a significant dent in Sainz’s lead in the general classification, as the Spaniard finished 18 minutes off Al-Attiyah’s pace and watched his lead get reduced to 45 minutes.
Sainz suffered a puncture in the second part of the San Juan road special and also had a gearbox problem that left him finishing the final nine miles of the stage in third gear after suffering “strange noises if I entered fourth or fifth”.
With just over 300 miles of competition left, Sainz – having had a 10-minute penalty rescinded on Wednesday – remains a strong favourite to give Peugeot a farewell Dakar win.
Toyota’s Giniel de Villiers was a minute up on Terranova to make up the top three on the day, meaning the X-raid Mini outfit is still chasing a first top-three stage finish in this year’s Dakar.
De Villiers is now over 20 minutes behind Al-Attiyah and nine minutes behind ten Brinke in what is currently an all-Toyota fight for the final spot on the 2018 podium.