McRae wins 13th stage

The Scot led home a Nissan sweep of the top three positions, heading team-mate Giniel De Villiers by 7m40s, with Ari Vatanen a further 1m7s back. The last British driver to win a Dakar stage was Andrew Cowan.

Following his earlier transmission troubles, which left him stranded in the desert for much of the weekend, McRae remains well off the lead of the event, although his success today has lifted him from 21st to 18th in the overall standings.

"Today's special stage was the first time when I was really able to drive," said McRae. "The trail was quite narrow between the trees, and we lost a front wing and a bit of our rear wing. We felt that we were driving well, and that we were catching up with the others. I am pleased to be the first British driver to have won a special stage since Andrew Cowan, who won six Dakar stages.

"I would have been a bit disappointed to head home without managing to claim a win. Tomorrow, it will be important to set the right pace, as it is a marathon stage. We will have to take care of the car, because we will not have any assistance at Tidjikja bivouac. There are still quite a few difficult sections to get through before arriving in Dakar, but we will try to win another stage before then."

Event leader Stephane Peterhansel was eighth quickest through the stage. However his chief rival, team-mate Hiroshi Masuoka, could only manage the seventh fastest time, gaining just 2m14s, ensuring that Peterhansel still enjoys a lead of over one hour.

Peterhansel Mitsubishi 36h36m26s
Masuoka Mitsubishi +1h2m29s
Schlesser Schlesser-Ford +2h29m59s
Alphand BMW +3h56m59s
De Mevius BMW +4h12m53s
Mayer Mitsubishi +5h4m24s