Peterhansel wins 7th stage to extend lead in Dakar Rally
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel padded his small lead in the Dakar Rally by winning a short but difficult seventh stage sprint on Monday.
Rain changed the terrain and shortened the fifth stage on Friday and forced the sixth on Saturday to be cancelled. During the scheduled rest day on Sunday, organizers combined sections of the sixth stage into the seventh, producing a 174-kilometer special from La Paz over dunes toward the Salar d'Uyuni salt flats.
Peterhansel, the most successful Dakar competitor, won the stage by 48 seconds from Sebastien Loeb, to extend his overall lead to 1 minute, 57 seconds over his Peugeot teammate and fellow Frenchman.
Giniel de Villiers of South Africa was third, 3 1/2 minutes back in his Toyota.
Mikko Hirvonen was eight kilometers from the finish when he hit a rock and punctured. He reached the finish fourth driving on a wheel rim.
Nani Roma of Spain was third overall, 11 minutes back in his Toyota. Aside from Peugeot driver Cyril Despres, nobody else was within 45 minutes of Peterhansel.
Ricky Brabec of the U.S. became the seventh different winner of a bike stage, while Sam Sunderland of Britain was third and maintained his overall lead of nearly 18 minutes over world champion Pablo Quintanilla of Chile.
