Dakar Rally 2015: Nasser Al-Attiyah surges back into lead for Mini
Nasser Al-Attiyah reclaimed the Dakar Rally lead by dominating the second stage, on which Stephane Peterhansel, Robby Gordon, Carlos Sainz and Orlando Terranova all had problems
Having lost his Sunday advantage when he was given a two-minute penalty for speeding in a restricted section, Al-Attiyah started Monday's 322-mile stage in seventh place.
But he was a full eight minutes clear of the competition on the run from Villa Carlos Paz to San Juan, thrusting him back into first overall immediately.
Al-Attiyah's X-raid team-mate Terranova had inherited the lead after the WRC2 champion's penalty and was his closest rival on raw pace for much of Monday, only to roll four times in a ditch near the end of the stage.
Damage to Terranova's car was minimal, but he lost over 20 minutes and fell to 10th overall.
With overnight second place man Gordon dropping time from the outset with brake problems and eventually losing four hours, the Toyotas of Giniel de Villiers and Bernhard Ten Brinke moved into second and third overall by the end of the day, with de Villiers 7m42s behind fellow past winner Al-Attiyah.
Peugeot's new 2008 DKR continues to languish down the order. Sainz was delayed in an incident with a motorcycle rider but is still Peugeot's top representative in seventh, albeit already 20 minutes from the lead.
Peterhansel dropped over an hour when he broke a steering arm in an impact with a tree stump then struggled to restart the car and is now 22nd, two places ahead of the third Peugeot of car category rookie Cyril Despres.
LEADING STAGE TWO TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Qatar Rally Team | Mini/BMW | 5h04m50.s |
| 2 | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota Imperial Team South Africa | Toyota | 8m30.s |
| 3 | Bernhard Ten Brinke | Overdrive Toyota | Toyota | 10m04.s |
| 4 | Krzysztof Holowczyc | Monster Energy Rally Raid Team | Mini/BMW | 11m12.s |
| 5 | Vladimir Vasilyev | Vasilyev Racing Team | Mini/BMW | 16m09.s |
| 6 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Yazeed Racing | Toyota | 17m57.s |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | Team Peugeot Total | Peugeot | 19m38.s |
| 8 | Erik van Loon | Xdakar | Mini/BMW | 19m44.s |
| 9 | Carlos Sousa | Mitsubishi Petrobras | Mitsubishi | 21m00.s |
| 10 | Orlando Terranova | Monster Energy Rally Raid Team | Mini/BMW | 24m01.s |
LEADING OVERALL STANDINGS AFTER STAGE TWO:
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Dakar: Orlando Terranova leads after Nasser Al-Attiyah penalised
Dakar: Terranova wins stage three, Al-Attiyah still leads
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