Dakar: Sainz takes fourth stage win

Volkswagen driver Sainz, already out of contention after losing nearly eight hours during the eighth stage, won the day's 283 km special between Kiffa in Mauritania and Kayes in Mali.

Sainz, 12th overall, finished over four minutes ahead of compatriot Nani Roma, the fastest of the Mitsubishi drivers in today's special.

Peterhansel finished third almost five minutes behind, but the Frenchman has increased his lead in the standings after teammate Luc Alphand hit trouble.

Alphand, second overall, finished over 35 minutes behind Sainz after hitting a tree and stopping to repair a front wheel. The French driver is now 40 minutes adrift of Peterhansel with five days of the rally remaining.

Thierry Magnaldi, sixth overall before today's stage in his Schlesser buggy, was also hit by trouble, the Frenchman suffering problems on a rear hub and losing a lot of time to the leaders.

American Mark Miller and former champion Jutta Kleinschmidt finished fourth and fifth in today's special. Giniel de Villiers, eighth today, is still the highest ranked Volkswagen driver in third place, ahead of Roma and Kleinschmidt.

Today's stage was only contested by cars and trucks, as organisers scrubbed the special for bike riders after Australian Andy Caldecott was killed in a crash on Monday.

"The organisers, the teams, the bikers and the bike race officials that gathered together after yesterday's stage have decided to neutralise stage 10 as a tribute to Andy," the race website reported.

Competitors held a minute's silence after the morning briefing in Kiffa in memory of the 41-year-old KTM rider. The riders treated the day as a non-competitive liaison.

Tomorrow's 424 km special will travel from Kayes to Bamako, still in Mali.

Stage 10 standings:

Pos  Driver                             Make            Time
 1.  Carlos Sainz (Spain)               Volkswagen      3:28:34
 2.  Nani Roma (Spain)                  Mitsubishi      3:32:42
 3.  Stephane Peterhansel (France)      Mitsubishi      3:33:32
 4.  Mark Miller (United States)        Volkswagen      3:35:22
 5.  Jutta Kleinschmidt (Germany)       Volkswagen      3:36:40
 6.  Jean-Louis Schlesser (France)      Schlesser-Ford  3:38:15
 7.  Carlos Sousa (Portugal)            Nissan          3:39:57
 8.  Giniel de Villiers (South Africa)  Volkswagen      3:42:33
 9.  Guerlain Chicherit (France)        BMW             3:48:29
10.  Philippe Gache (France)            Buggy           3:54:20
11.  Bruno Saby (France)                Volkswagen      3:54:27
12.  Stephane Henrard (Belgium)         Volkswagen      3:55:07
13.  Alfie Cox (South Africa)           BMW             4:00:58
14.  Jose Luis Monterde (Spain)         BMW             4:00:59
15.  Luc Alphand (France)               Mitsubishi      4:04:20
16.  Jean-Francois Guinot (France)      Volkswagen      4:07:04
17.  Josep-Maria Servia (Spain)         Schlesser-Ford  4:07:51
18.  Henri Pescarolo (France)           Buggy           4:08:34
19.  Marc Blazquez (Spain)              Nissan          4:09:09
20.  Raphael Sperrer (Australia)        Buggy           4:15:33

Overall standings after stage 10:

Pos  Driver                             Make            Time
 1.  Stephane Peterhansel (France)      Mitsubishi      38:09:58
 2.  Luc Alphand (France)               Mitsubishi      38:50:02
 3.  Giniel de Villiers (South Africa)  Volkswagen      39:13:15
 4.  Nani Roma (Spain)                  Mitsubishi      39:45:22
 5.  Jutta Kleinschmidt (Germany)       Volkswagen      40:09:30
 6.  Mark Miller (United States)        Volkswagen      41:31:00
 7.  Jean-Louis Schlesser (France)      Schlesser-Ford  42:10:24
 8.  Carlos Sousa (Portugal)            Nissan          43:24:54
 9.  Bruno Saby (France)                Volkswagen      46:45:28
10.  Guerlain Chicherit (France)        BMW             46:50:30
11.  Philippe Gache (France)            Buggy           48:08:59
12.  Carlos Sainz (Spain)               Volkswagen      48:23:47
13.  Stephane Henrard (Belgium)         Volkswagen      49:24:01
14.  Maris Saukans (Latvia)             OSC             50:14:59
15.  Thierry De Lavergne (France)       Renault         50:40:21
16.  Jean-Francois Guinot (France)      Volkswagen      51:27:25
17.  Josep-Maria Servia (Spain)         Schlesser-Ford  53:13:06
18.  Bob ten Harkel (Netherlands)       Bowler          54:03:56
19.  Erik Ivar Tollefsen (Norway)       Bowler          55:32:57
20.  Alfie Cox (South Africa)           BMW             55:39:36