Nasser Al-Attiyah has taken the lead of the Dakar Rally
Nasser Al-Attiyah has taken the lead of the Dakar Rally after stage two, while stage one winner Nani Roma lost 15 minutes in a crash. X-Raid BMW driver Roma had been quickest by two minutes on yesterday's run from Buenos Aires to Cordoba, but had a multiple roll into a gulch just two kilometres into the Cordoba to La Rioja stage today.
Roma and co-driver Michel Perin were unhurt and able to rejoin and complete the stage, ending the day eighth overall.
Al-Attiyah, who had only been fourth on Saturday, overcame VW team-mate Mauricio Neves and X-Raid's Guerlain Chicherit to take the stage lead in the final third of the test, ultimately winning it by 1m08s over Chicherit.
That gave the World Rally Championship regular a 1m19s lead in the overall standings ahead of his team-mate Carlos Sainz - who was fourth fastest on today's stage - and Stephane Peterhansel (X-Raid BMW).
Neves' quick time today moved him up to fifth overall behind VW's Mark Miller, but Chicherit's strong stage two performance made little difference to his position as he had lost nearly an hour yesterday when electrical problems struck near the end of stage one.
Overall standings after stage two:
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah VW 6h16m39s
2. Carlos Sainz VW + 1m19s
3. Stephane Peterhansel BMW + 2m30s
4. Mark Miller VW + 5m28s
5. Mauricio Neves VW + 5m40s
6. Giniel de Villiers VW + 7m17s
7. Carlos Sousa Mitsubishi + 10m13s
8. Nani Roma BMW + 11m44s
9. Robby Gordon Hummer + 12m28s
10. Christian Lavieille Nissan + 12m50s
Source: Nasser Al-Attiyah has taken the lead of the Dakar Rally
Roma and co-driver Michel Perin were unhurt and able to rejoin and complete the stage, ending the day eighth overall.
Al-Attiyah, who had only been fourth on Saturday, overcame VW team-mate Mauricio Neves and X-Raid's Guerlain Chicherit to take the stage lead in the final third of the test, ultimately winning it by 1m08s over Chicherit.
That gave the World Rally Championship regular a 1m19s lead in the overall standings ahead of his team-mate Carlos Sainz - who was fourth fastest on today's stage - and Stephane Peterhansel (X-Raid BMW).
Neves' quick time today moved him up to fifth overall behind VW's Mark Miller, but Chicherit's strong stage two performance made little difference to his position as he had lost nearly an hour yesterday when electrical problems struck near the end of stage one.
Overall standings after stage two:
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah VW 6h16m39s
2. Carlos Sainz VW + 1m19s
3. Stephane Peterhansel BMW + 2m30s
4. Mark Miller VW + 5m28s
5. Mauricio Neves VW + 5m40s
6. Giniel de Villiers VW + 7m17s
7. Carlos Sousa Mitsubishi + 10m13s
8. Nani Roma BMW + 11m44s
9. Robby Gordon Hummer + 12m28s
10. Christian Lavieille Nissan + 12m50s
Source: Nasser Al-Attiyah has taken the lead of the Dakar Rally
