Polish driver Krzysztof Holowczyc has taken the overall lead in the Dakar Rally after the third stage from San Rafael to San Juan in Argentina was won by Mini team mate, Spaniard Nani Roma.
Roma clocked 2hours 26min 51sec over the 208km drive, finishing 1min09 ahead of Holowczyc, while Qatar's defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah was third in his Hummer, 1min29 further adrift.
Roma, who won on a motorcycle in 2004, said: “We were lucky to start later on, follow the tyre tracks and see where to brake.
“But all in all, it's more important for us that we drove really well, rather than the stage victory,” added Roma, whose best finish in the car section was third in 2006.
It was not a good day for the overnight leader, six times Dakar motorcycle and three time car winner Stephane Peterhansel of France, who suffered two punctures and came in more than six minutes behind Roma, slipping to fifth overall and promoting top South African Driver Giniel de Villiers in the first of the 'works' Toyota Hiluxes (who finished fourth in Stage 3) to third overall.
But most improved of the South Africans was four times SA Off-Road champion Duncan Vos - rapidly coming to grips with his first Dakar - who moved up from 18th to 13th overall.
Mark Corbett in the South African-built CR4 buggy finished Stage 3 22nd position after losing about 10 minutes to the leaders and is now 18th overall.
Corbett started the day 17th and had passed the only other two-wheel drive cars ahead of them when they had their first puncture.
His navigator, Francois Jordaan, said: “We were going well, when we realised we had a slow puncture. We tried to carry on by using the onboard tyre inflater, but it didn't work and we had to stop to change the wheel.
“Then we had a second puncture and had to stop again; both of the buggies passed us, but we're not too concerned - there's still a long way to go.
“Today's stage suited the four-wheel drive Class T cars. The scenery as we near the Andes Mountains is spectacular but the course was very rough with both dry and wet river crossings and we had to contend with extreme heat and thick dust throughout the day.”
MOTORCYCLES
Three times Dakar champion Cyril Despres of France pulled off an emphatic win in the 270km third stage of the motorcycle category.
Despres - who had a bad start to the race but pulled back some time in Stage 2 - took the overall lead in the race as his main rival, KTM team mate and defending champion Marc Coma of Spain, had an awful day, finishing seventh more than 13min off the winner.
Coma was philosophical about his 'bad day at the office' which saw him take the wrong route.
“Yesterday was my day, but today definitely wasn't!” said Coma, who won Monday's stage.
“After 170km, there was a different track for the bikes and the cars. I checked the road-book and thought I was on the right track, but then I saw that wasn't the case, because the next note was after eight kilometres and it was wrong, so I turned round!
“16km is a lot! So, after that, I went on the attack to try to get back some time, but today was a difficult day, even if the scenery was spectacular...
“Well, in the end, I've lost 13 minutes. It's a lot, but when you make a mistake, you shouldn't be surprised that the gaps open up. That's racing for you.”
Despres clocked 3hours 48min 38sec to beat Dutch rider Frans Verhoeven by 8min 37sec while Portugal's Paulo Goncalves was third, a further two seconds adrift.
The 37-year-old Frenchman now holds an overall lead of 10min 12sec over Coma, who had gone into the stage nearly three minutes ahead of his team mate.
Despres refused to gloat over Coma's error.
“Over the last 50 kilometres, I couldn't see many tyre tracks, so I wasn't sure that Marc was up ahead,” he said.
“In the end, I finished first and I've been told that he chose the wrong track so that's going to be to my advantage. It's good for my position, even if I'm never happy about other people's setbacks.”
Meanwhile, French motorcycle competitor Sebastien Coue was in critical condition after crashing during the Stage 2. Coue was found in sand dunes in western Argentina, and hospital officials said it was not clear how long he had been unconscious and exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees.
The rally has already claimed three lives this year. Argentine rider Jorge Martinez Boero died in a crash in Sunday's first stage and, on the same day, the pilot of an ultralight aircraft and his son died tracking the race.
Stage 4 will be a 750km, high altitude dash to Chilecito, a stage on which one is more likely to lose the event than win it. A small lapse in concentration in the numerous canyons could have disastrous consequences while a perfect run could only generate a small lead.
It will be a true test of each driver's ability to concentrate and to remain focused over demanding distances and a further test of the durability of the various cars, before the competitors tackle the first of the killer dune stages, the run to Fiambala on Friday.
Results from Stage 3 of the Dakar Rally from San Rafael to San Juan:
CARS
1 Nani Roma (Spain) Mini - 2hours 26min 51sec
2 Krzysztof Holowczyc (Poland) Mini +1min09
3 Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) Hummer +1min29
4 Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) Toyota +1min33
5 Robby Gordon (US) Hummer +2min08
6 Orlando Terranova (Argentina) Toyota +6min08
7 Stephane Peterhansel (France) Mini +6min23
8 Erik Van Loone (Netherlands) Mitsubishi +7min03
9 Leonid Novitzkiy (Russia) Mini +7min18
10 Erik Wevers (Netherlands) Mitsubishi +7min35
OVERALL
1 Krzysztof Holowczyc (Poland) Mini - 5hours 51min 06sec
2 Robby Gordon (US) Hummer at +54sec
3 Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) Toyota +1min40
4 Nani Roma (Spain) Mini +1min50
5 Stephane Peterhansel (France) Mini +2min41
6 Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar) Hummer +6min34
7 Leonid Novitzkiy (Russia) Mini +14min53
8 Lucio Alvarez (Argentina) Toyota +20min39
9 Ricardo Leal Dos Santos (Portugal) Mini +14min41
10 Erik Wevers (Netherlands) Mitsubishi +26min06.
MOTORCYCLES
1 Cyril Despres (France) KTM - 3hours 48min 38sec
2 Frans Verhoeven (Netherlands) Sherko +8min 37sec
3 Paulo Goncalves (Portugal) Husqvarna +8min39
4 Helder Rodrigues (Portugal) Yamaha +10min03
5 Alain Duclos (France) Aprilia +11min12
6 David Casteu (France) Yamaha +11min42
7 Marc Coma (Spain) KTM +13min04
8 Francisco Lopez (Chile) Aprilia +17min59
9 Gerard Farres (Spain) KTM +18min19
10 Pal Anders Ullevalseter (Norway) KTM +18min32
OVERALL
1 Cyril Despres (France) KTM 7hours 31min 42sec
2 Marc Coma (Spain) KTM +10min 12sec
3 David Casteu (France) Yamaha +17min16
4 Francisco Lopez (Chile) Aprilia +17min37
5 Helder Rodrigues (Portugal) Yamaha +19min49
6 Alain Duclos (France) Aprilia +20min47
7 Paulo Goncalvez (Portugal) Husqvarna +26min00
8 Pal Anders Ullevalseter (Norway KTM +26min18
9 Javier Pizzolito (Argentina) Honda +27min21
10 Jordi Viladoms (Spain) KTM +28min26
