Dakar: McRae takes control
Colin McRae has moved back into the lead of the Dakar Rally after beating Nissan team-mate Giniel de Villiers by more than six minutes to win the fifth stage of the event
McRae dominated the 654km run from Agadir to Smara that featured a huge 381km special stage - the longest of the event so far.
With the two Nissan drivers now at the top of the overall leaderboard, Mitsubishi's Luc Alphand has established himself in third position. VW's Jutta Klienschmidt was the third car home on stage 5, which moved her to fourth overall ahead of team-mate Bruno Saby.
Qatari driver Nasser saleh al Attiyah was fourth fastest on the stage, driving a modified BMW X5 which has boosted him up ahead of double-stage winner Robby Gordon. The American lost his overall lead, placing ninth with a poor run that cost him 13 minutes to McRae.
Stephane Peterhansel, who had been second overnight, also dropped out of the top ten after a run plagued by punctures.
McRae/Thorner, Nissan Pickup, 5h07m24s
de Villiers/Lurquin, Nissan Pickup, 5h12m52s
Alphand/Picard, Mitsubishi Pajero Evo, 5h13m25s
Kleinschmidt/Pons, VW Touareg, 5h13m28s
Saby/Perin, VW Touareg, 5h14m36s
Al Attiyah/Guehennec, BMW X5, 5h15m01s
Gordon/von Zitzewitz, VW Touareg, 5h16m25s
Kankunnen/Repo, VW Touareg, 5h17m24s
de Mevius/Dubois, Nissan Pickup, 5h21m59s
Shinozuka/Maimon, Nissan Pickup, 5h22m07s
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