Sainz takes Dakar lead on day two

Opening day leader Nassar Al-Attiyah (X-Raid BMW) had remained ahead through the first checkpoint in the Santa Rosa to Puerto Madryn stage, only to lose six minutes when he went off course in a particularly sandy section and struggled to find the stage route again - eventually having to double back to ensure he crossed the second checkpoint.

Sainz, who had already been slightly faster than Al-Attiyah in the first part of the stage, proceeded to take the fastest time and move into the overall lead, although he also had difficulty in the sand.

"It was very difficult with the dust and the motorbikes," said Sainz. "There were places where you basically had to stop. In one of these places I found a motorbike, and I hope it's okay."

The former World Rally champion now has a 2:19 lead over his VW teammate Giniel de Villiers in second place. Like Al-Attiyah, the South African had trouble staying on the rally route in the deep sand.

"The beginning was very fast, but in the middle there was an off piste section where it was not so easy with the navigation," said de Villiers.

"We lost about a minute or two but it was not too bad. Towards the end it was very, very dusty. We tried to be safe and not get stuck in anything."

Defending winner Stephane Peterhansel has now moved up to third for Mitsubishi, ahead of the delayed Al-Attiyah, after taking the second-fastest time in today's stage.

Stage two times:

Pos  Driver                Car         Time
 1.  Carlos Sainz          VW          1h56:14
 2.  Stephane Peterhansel  Mitsubishi   + 1:14
 3.  Giniel de Villiers    VW           + 1:56
 4.  Joan Roma             Mitsubishi   + 2:48
 5.  Luc Alphand           Mitsubishi   + 3:54
 6.  Krzysztof Holowczyc   Nissan       + 5:46
 7.  Mark Miller           VW           + 6:16
 8.  Orlando Terranova     BMW          + 6:20
 9.  Nassar Al-Attiyah     BMW          + 6:32
10.  Robby Gordon          Hummer       + 9:24

Overall positions after stage two:

Pos  Driver                Car         Time
 1.  Carlos Sainz          VW          4h34:46
 2.  Giniel de Villiers    VW          +  2:19
 3.  Stephane Peterhansel  Mitsubishi  +  3:51
 4.  Nassar Al-Attiyah     BMW         +  4:15
 5.  Joan Roma             Mitsubishi  +  5:42
 6.  Luc Alphand           Mitsubishi  +  6:21
 7.  Mark Miller           VW          +  8:20
 8.  Orlando Terranova     BMW         +  9:12
 9.  Krzysztof Holowczyc   Nissan      + 11:13
10.  Robby Gordon          Hummer      + 21:32