Toyota Gazoo Racing SA driver Nasser Al-Attiyah maintained his overall lead after placing second on both Stage 5 and Stage 6. By the end of the latter, the Qatari driver had held his lead over Peugeot’s Sebastien Loeb to nearly 38 minutes.
“Today’s stage was extremely difficult, with some massive dunes and tricky navigation,” said Al-Attiyah. “We led for most of the stage, but then made a small mistake near the end, which allowed Sebastien [Loeb] to take the stage win.”
Mini’s Stephane Peterhansel lost 18 minutes on the stage, forcing him down to third overall.
And Giniel de Villiers? Well, the South African finished the fifth stage in ninth and the sixth stage in eighth, and is currently 18th overall. Teammate Bernhard ten Brinke, meanwhile, is ninth in the overall standings, while Mini has five drivers in the top ten.
“I’m not sure that it can be much tougher than Stage 6 in terms of the terrain,” said Toyota Gazoo Racing SA team principal, Glyn Hall. “But the crews will be covering terrain that was used in previous stages, so there will be many confusing tracks, which could make navigation a challenge.”
Stage 7 is a looped stage of 323 km, starting and finishing at the bivouac in San Juan de Marcona. Three more stages follow, before the event ends in Lima.
Stage 5 results:
1. Loeb (Peugeot)
2. Al-Attiyah (Toyota): +10:22
3. Roma (Mini): +24:04
4. Peterhansel (Mini): +26:09
5. Przygonski (Mini): +26:17
6. Despres (Mini): +32:38
7. Hunt (Peugeot): +32:40
8. Prokop (Ford): +36:28
9. De Villiers (Toyota): +37:55
10. Ten Brinke (Toyota): +42:31
Stage 6 results:
1. Loeb (Peugeot)
2. Al-Attiyah (Toyota): +02:17
3. Sainz (Mini): +06:56
4. Despres (Mini): +13:05
5. Roma (Mini): +13:08
6. Peterhansel (Mini): +18:49
7. Prokop (Ford): +19:22
8. De Villiers (Toyota): +23:29
9. Ten Brinke (Toyota): +27:29
10. Henrard (Henrard): +01:00:34
Overall standings:
1. Al-Attiyah (Toyota)
2. Loeb (Peugeot): +37:43
3. Peterhansel (Mini): +41:14
4. Roma (Mini): +45:24
5. Despres (Mini): +01:19:09
6. Przygonski (Mini): +02:03:10
7. Prokop (Ford): +02:31:02
8. Al Rajhi (Mini): +04:01:19
9. Ten Brinke (Toyota): +04:18:44
10. Vanagas (Toyota): +05:06:50
