Dakar Rally 2017: Carlos Sainz retires after Thursday crash

The 2010 Dakar winner and two-time World Rally champion was poised to take the lead until rolling into a ravine just three miles from the end of the Jujuy-Tupiza stage.

Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz managed to get their Peugeot 3008DKR to the service bivouac, but the team concluded that it could not be repaired in the allotted time.

"The car could not continue by itself because we had broken the radiator, the shifter," said Sainz.

"We pushed the car, put it on the road, trying to get help."

Even if the Peugeot could have been repaired, Sainz admitted on Thursday night that he was worried about pain in his lower back muscles as a result of the accident.

Sainz was one of many drivers who had lost time with navigation issues early on the stage and conceded that had lured him into pushing too hard.

"We had lost so much time at the start of the stage - we had to recover, and recover, and recover," he said.

"And when you take so many risks, these things can happen."

Fellow Peugeot driver Cyril Despres moved from fifth into the lead on Thursday's stage as he avoided the navigation trouble that delayed the likes of Sainz and erstwhile leader Sebastien Loeb, who is now fourth.