Stephane Peterhansel stayed in control of the Dakar Rally thanks to his third-place finish in the 12th stage, which was won by fellow Frenchman Luc Alphand on Tuesday.
Alphand, the 1997 World Cup alpine skiing champion, won the 213km special between Bobo and Dioulasso in a time of 1:54,53 ahead of French Schlesser-Ford driver Jean-Louis Schlesser who finished one minute and 28 seconds behind.
Peterhansel finished five minutes and 40 seconds off the pace ahead of Japanese challenger and fellow Mitsubishi driver Hiroshi Masuoka at six minutes and 23 seconds.
Peterhansel, bidding to become only the second competitor to win the race on four wheels as well as two, now has a 1:04,43 overall lead on defending champion Masuoka with Schlesser 2:18,16 behind.
Colin McRae, who scrambled to beat the deadline on Monday, finished 24 minutes and 12 seconds behind in 13th place.
The 1995 World Rally champion’s hopes were effectively ended when he lost his four-wheel drive last Thursday, and gearbox problems on his Nissan struck again on Friday.
French KTM rider Cyril Despres won the motorbike section comfortably in 1:48,13 ahead of Spanish KTM riders Marc Coma, at five minutes and 47 seconds, and Nani Roma, at six minutes and 25 seconds.
Roma increased his overall lead on Frenchman Richard Sainct, the defending champion and three-time winner, to 10 minutes and six seconds, with Despres moving closer to the third spot, currently held by South African KTM rider Alfie Cox.
”Taking off first helped me, especially on this kind of course,” said Despres. ”We had to slalom a bit between the chickens, turkeys and wild boar. I have to attack as much as I can without taking risks, riding my own stages without thinking about the overall. Nothing is completely decided for victory.”
”It wasn’t a nice special,” said Roma.
”There was a lot of dust and when you ride behind you have to go slowly. It was quite dangerous with lots of people and animals.
”The important thing today was getting back into the rhythm of the race and making it to the finish without a problem. I gain minutes on Sainct, I didn’t think I would manage a gap today.”
Wednesday’s 13th stage heads for Ayoun El Atrous in Mauritania and includes 478km of specials. — Sapa-AFP