Al Attiyah gives BMW first victory
Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah has taken his first stage win of the Dakar rally in the event's tenth special in Nema, Mali
It was also BMW's first victory of the rally, and it leaves the overall standings pretty much unchanged following yesterday's decisive stage.
Al Attiyah completed the 366 kms of the stage in three hours and 49 minutes, 48 seconds ahead of Mitsubishi's veteran Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka.
American Mark Miller was the fastest Volkswagen driver in fourth, while Stefan Peterhansel cruised to fourth position to consolidate his lead in the overall standings.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who yesterday lost over six hours after being hit by electric problems, finished the stage in fifth, less than three minutes behind Al Attiyah.
Reigning champion Luc Alphand, second behind teammate Peterhansel in the standings, was sixth, some two minutes behind the Frenchman.
Peterhansel now leads Alphand by nearly ten minutes, with Frenchman Jean-Louise Schlesser, seventh today, over an hour and half behind in third position.
Tomorrow's stage from Nema to Ayoun will not be timed, with drivers only having to complete a 280-km connection before they compete again on Thursday. Stage 10 classification:
Pos Driver Make Time
1. Al Attiyah BMW 3h49:48
2. Masuoka Mitsubishi + 0.28
3. Miller Volkswagen + 1:49
4. Peterhansel Mitsubishi + 2:08
5. Sainz Volkswagen + 2:48
6. Alphand Mitsubishi + 4:14
7. Schlesser Schlesser + 7:26
8. Roma Mitsubishi + 08:29
9. Kleinschmidt BMW + 18:25
10. Shmakov Buggy + 19:35
Overall standings after stage 10:
Pos Driver Make Time
1. Peterhansel Mitsubishi 37h35:19
2. Alphand Mitsubishi + 9:56
3. Schlesser Schlesser-Ford + 1h30:50
4. Al Attiyah BMW + 2h00:13
5. Masuoka Mitsubishi + 2h12:04
6. Miller Volkswagen + 2h14:07
7. Sousa Volkswagen + 5h20:47
8. Gordon Hummer + 6h52:54
9. Henrard Volkswagen + 7h40:21
10. Sainz Volkswagen + 7h45:59
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