Despite finishing in sixth place after Monday’s 39 km special stage, Sebastien Loeb and navigator Daniel Elena managed to claim the top spot after yesterday’s trip from Resistencia to San Miguel de Tucman.
Loeb was able to lead every single section of the timed 275 km route within Resistencia, making this his fifth Dakar stage win.
Monday’s victor, Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel didn’t fall too far behind as they claimed the second spot with just a 28 second difference. Geniel de Villiers managed to claim fourth place.
Third place was claimed by Peugeot’s Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz with a time difference of 1 min 56 sec. The remainder of Peugeot cars on the field were off-pace in comparison as Stephane Peterhansel and navigator Jean-Paul Cottret ended roughly 5 min 30 sec after Sainz.
Stage three will commence this afternoon and see drivers and navigators travel 512 km from San Miguel de Tucumán up to San Salvador de Jujuy where altitudes are said to reach up to 5 000 m. Included in this route is a 416 km special stage.
The overall standings are as follows:
1. Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot) 2h 33 min 31 sec
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) +28 sec
3. Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) + 1 min 56 sec
4. Giniel De Villiers (Toyota) +2 min 05 sec
5. Nani Roma (Toyota) +2 min 56 sec
6. Yazeed Al Rajhi (Mini) +5 min 12 sec
7. Peterhansel/Cottret (Peugeot) +7 min 26 sec
8. Mikko Hirvonen (Mini) +8 min 49 sec
9. Erik Van Loon (Toyota) +9 min 36 sec
10. Dumas/Guehennec (Peugeot) +9 min 58 sec
