CALAMA, Chile: Defending champion Carlos Sainz of Spain extended his lead at the top of the Dakar Rally standings Wednesday by winning the fourth stage as the gruelling event crossed the border from Argentina into Chile. The Volkswagen driver covered the 207km special on the 761km run from Jujuy in the north of Argentina to the Chilean town of Calama in 1hr 57min 09sec to finish 50sec ahead of last year's runner-up and teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar. France's Stephane Peterhansel was third at 1min 22sec in his BMW. It was the third stage win for double rally world champion Sainz in this year's race. “There was some navigation work, a bit of off-track driving, but I think that it will be tomorrow when things will get serious,” said Sainz, who had led third-stage winner Al-Attiyah by 3min 34sec in the overall standings overnight. Spaniard Marc Coma, riding a KTM, earlier grabbed the overall motorcycles lead by finishing in 2hr 04min, a 16-second lead over defending champion, and overnight leader, Cyril Despres of France. “It was a very important day for me, even if it was only a 207km stage. It was difficult to open the way. I'm happy and I felt great,” said Coma. Despres was not concerned by losing his overall advantage to Coma, standing at just 0.02sec behind overall. – Agence France
