Dakar: Stephane Peterhansel hits the front on day two
Stephane Peterhansel moved into the 2014 Dakar Rally lead by winning Monday's stage
The 11-time winner had lost four minutes with a puncture on the opener on Sunday, but had a flawless run from San Luis to San Rafael on the second day.
That thrust Peterhansel's X-raid Mini from sixth overall into the lead.
He is only 28 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz, who also gained ground on stage two having struggled for pace on Sunday in his SMG Buggy.
Peterhansel gives AUTOSPORT a ride - in the snow
Nasser Al-Attiyah is third in another X-raid Mini, four minutes off the lead.
He suffered three punctures on stage two and then had to tread carefully to the finish with no spares left, losing seven minutes to Peterhansel and Sainz. Al-Attiyah is just nine seconds ahead of team-mate Nani Roma overall.
Overnight leader Carlos Sousa's moment of glory proved very shortlived, as turbo problems dropped him out of contention on stage two.
Leading stage two times: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Stephane Peterhansel X-raid Mini 3h52m05s 2. Carlos Sainz SMG Buggy +46s 3. Giniel de Villiers Imperial Toyota +5m34s 4. Nani Roma X-raid Mini +7m25s 5. Nasser Al-Attiyah X-raid Mini +7m44s 6. Orlando Terranova X-raid Mini +12m41s 7. Ronan Chabot SMG Buggy +14m03s 8. Christian Lavieille Haval +19m38s 9. Lucio Alvarez Ford +26m00s 10. Reinaldo Varela Petrobras Mitsubishi +28m06s Leading overall positions after stage two: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Stephane Peterhansel X-raid Mini 6h17m02s 2. Carlos Sainz SMG Buggy +28s 3. Nasser Al-Attiyah X-raid Mini +4m10s 4. Nani Roma X-raid Mini +4m19s 5. Orlando Terranova X-raid Mini +8m31s 6. Giniel de Villiers Imperial Toyota +17m10s 7. Christian Lavieille Haval +20m59s 8. Reinaldo Varela Petrobras Mitsubishi +36m00s 9. Krzysztof Holowczyc X-raid Mini +37m08s 10. Marek Dabrowski Orlen Toyota +38m08s
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