France's Dakar Rally legend Stephane Peterhansel took the overall lead in the car section here on Wednesday after winning the fourth stage, a 326km special from San Juan to Chilecito.
The 46-year-old Mini driver, a six-time Dakar motorcycling champion and three-time car winner, endured a miserable day on Tuesday when he suffered two punctures but on Wednesday it was the turn of Qatar's defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah to have a nightmare.
The 31-year-old's Hummer broke down after 288km of the stage and only got going again after a 15-minute stop, leaving Al-Attiyah seventh overall and over half an hour off the pace.
While he fumed, Peterhansel came in 5min 19sec ahead of Argentinian driver Orlando Terranova, while the latter's fellow Toyota driver, experienced South African Giniel De Villiers, was third, 6min 42sec adrift.
Peterhansel, though, was not so happy that he had re-taken the overall lead.
"I would have preferred not to lead the field tomorrow (Thursday), since there will be no motorcycle tracks," he said.
"This is not what I would have liked from a tactical point of view, but I think the others made a lot of mistakes, so we will race at the front."
Defending motorcycling champion Marc Coma had earlier won the bikes stage, rebounding from a poor day on Tuesday, when he had lost the overall lead.
The 35-year-old KTM rider came in 2min 02sec ahead of main rival and team-mate Cyril Despres of France, who retained the overall lead with an advantage of 8min 10sec over the Spaniard.
Dutchman Frans Verhoeven, riding for Sherco, was third, over eight minutes off the pace, having finished second in Tuesday's stage.
Coma had led three-time motorcycling champion Despres by over two minutes, but fell 10 minutes behind him on Tuesday after he took the wrong route.
"I tried to drive at a very high pace from the beginning, but it was difficult," said Coma.
"I was able to overtake a few drivers and gain some time on Cyril. Fiambala and many other stages still lie ahead. That is the way things are right now. And I keep on fighting every day."
For his part, Despres said he had just been content to play safe and restrict the damage done to his overall lead by Coma.
"It was difficult because the rainfall in the region these last few days furrowed the tracks and exposed big rocks," he said.
"Moreover, with this heat it is physically demanding to maintain a high pace in these conditions... So I am quite happy with my performance today (Wednesday).
"At the beginning I saw Marc surge ahead and I knew he would claw some time back, but I focused on the navigation to avoid making any mistakes."
South Africa's Mark Corbett and Francois Jordaan are 19th overall after the first four stages of the 2012 Dakar Rally.
The first four days of the marathon event between Mar del Plata in Argentina and Lima in Peru have been described as the most torrid start to the world's longest and most difficult motor race since its inception in 1979.
Dakar Rally standings after Stage 4
Cars - Stage 4 Results:
1. Peterhansel (FRA) Cottret (FRA) Mini 03:49:33
2. Terranova (ARG) Grider (USA) Toyota 00:05:19
3. De Villiers (RSA) Von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota 03:56:15
4. Roma (ESP) Périn (FRA) Mini 03:57:08
5. Holowczyc (POL) Fortin (BEL) Mini 04:00:24
6. Sousa (POR) Garcin (FRA) GWM 04:01:13
7. Wevers (NED) Lurquin (BEL) Mitsubishi 04:02:50
8. Vos (RSA) Howie (RSA) Toyota 04:03:22
9. Spinelli (BRA) Haddad (BRA) Mitsubishi 04:03:44
10. Novitzkiy (RUS) Schulz (GER) Mini 04:03:46
20. Corbett (RSA) Jordaan (RSA) CR4 04:25:14
Cars – Overall:
1. Peterhansel (FRA) Cottret (FRA) Mini 09:43:20
2. De Villiers (RSA) Von Zitzewitz (GER) Toyota 00:05:41
3. Roma (ESP) Périn (FRA) Mini 00:06:44
4. Holowczyc (POL) Fortin (BEL) Mini 00:08:10
5. Gordon (USA) Campbell (USA) Hummer 00:16:23
6. Novitzkiy (RUS) Schulz (GER) Mini 00:26:25
7. Al-Attiyah (QAT) Cruz (ESP) Hummer 00:30:44
8. Sousa (POR) Garcin (FRA) GWM 00:30:45
9. Alvarez (ARG) Graue (ARG) Toyota 00:33:11
10. Wevers (NED) Lurquin (BEL) Mitsubishi 00:36:42
12. Vos (RSA) Howie (RSA) Toyota 00:57:50
19. Corbett (RSA) Jordaan (RSA) CR4 01:33:09
Bikes - Stage 4 Results:
1. Marc Coma (ESP) KTM 4hr 16min 43sec
2. Cyril Després (FRA) KTM at 2min 02sec
3. Frans Verhoeven (NED) Sherco 8:26
4. Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha 9:01
5. Paulo Goncalves (POR) Husqvarna 11:18
6. Juan Pedro Garcia (ESP) KTM 11:20
7. Alain Duclos (FRA) Aprilia 13:20
8. Stefan Svitko (SVK) KTM 13:42
9. Francisco Lopez (CHI) Aprilia 14:15
10. David Casteu (FRA) Yamaha 15:23
40. Darryl Curtis (RSA) KTM 56:11
102. Greg Raaf (RSA) KTM 02:23:19
108. Iain Stevenson (RSA) KTM 02:34:00
131. Neil Scott-Williams (RSA) KTM 03:43:50
Bikes – Overall:
1. Cyril Després (FRA) KTM 11hr 50min 27sec
2. Marc Coma (ESP) KTM at 8min 10sec
3. Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha 26:48
4. Francisco Lopez (CHI) Aprilia 29:50
5. David Casteu (FRA) Yamaha 30:37
6. Paulo Gonçalves (POR) Husqvarna 35:16
7. Frans Verhoeven (NED) Sherco 37:48
8. Juan Pedro Garcia (ESP) KTM 38:19
9. Jordi Viladoms (ESP) KTM 44:00
10. Gerard Farres Guell (ESP) KTM 44.24
44. Darryl Curtis (RSA) KTM 2:57:35
111. Iain Stevenson (RSA) KTM 07:28:54
115. Greg Raaf (RSA) KTM 07:48:51
126. Neil Scott-Williams (RSA) KTM 10:02:17
