Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah drives his Mini during the fourth stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally between Chilecito, Argentina, to Copiapo, Chile, on Wednesday. (Reuters)

AFP/Copiapo, Chile


Former champion Nasser al-Attiyah mounted a late charge to extend his Dakar Rally lead on Wednesday as the gruelling 9,000km event climbed the Andes and then crossed Chile’s Atacama desert.
Qatari driver al-Attiyah, the 2011 champion, finished 2min 40sec ahead of Mini teammate Nani Roma, the defending champion, whose hopes had disappeared on a disastrous opening stage on Sunday when he lost eight hours.
In third place on Wednesday’s fourth stage was South Africa’s 2009 champion Giniel De Villiers behind the wheel of a Toyota.
De Villiers was 2:57 behind al-Attiyah as he claimed a fourth successive stage podium finish and is now second in the overall title chase, more than eight minutes behind his Qatari rival.
Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed al-Rajhi, also in a Toyota, was fourth on the 315km timed stage Wednesday to sit third overall, 23:33 behind Al-Attiyah. “The man to beat is Giniel,” said al-Attiyah after giving Mini, who swept the podium in 2014, their fourth stage win out of four so far.
“He is always a threat on the Dakar, always amongst the top places. We had a three-minute advantage on him. I need to keep going like this, be careful but also attack from time to time.”
Peugeot, returning to the race after a 25-year absence, endured another disappointing day with 11-time champion Stephane Peterhansel finishing fifth having looked on course for victory until the closing kilometres.
He is 10th overall but Carlos Sainz, the 2010 champion, suffered a series of technical setbacks at the 30km mark and was still to finish after needing assistance from support vehicles.
Spanish motorcyclist Joan Barreda rode to his second stage win of this year’s race, taking his Honda to victory ahead of defending champion Marc Coma on a KTM with Chile’s Pablo Quintanilla, also on a KTM, in third.
In the overall standings, Barreda now leads by 12min 49sec from Coma with Honda teammate Paulo Goncalves of Portugal back in third place, 20min 29sec off the lead.
“The first part of the stage was a very fast but complicated track. Marc Coma was ahead and it was very difficult to catch up with him. I stayed focused and motivated. I caught up with him towards km 100 and eased into a solid pace,” said Barreda.  
“We tackled dunes and navigation was difficult. We’re in control. The next few days will be extremely tough. Actually, there’s a big chunk of Dakar left and we know there are tricky situations ahead.”
Honda’s Laia Sanz was eighth on Wednesday to be the best-placed female rider and moved into 12th overall.

Cars
Stage 4 results (top ten)
1. Nasser al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (QAT/FRA/Mini) 3 h 09:18
2. Nani Roma/Michel Périn (ESP/FRA/Mini) 2:40
3. Giniel De Villiers/Dirk Von Zitzewitz (RSA/GER/Toyota) 2:57
4. Yazeed al-Rajhi/Timo Göttschalk (KSA/GER/Toyota) 3:25
5. Stephane Peterhansel/Jean Paul Cottret (FRA/FRA/Peugeot) 5:48
6. Bernhard Ten Brinke/Tom Colsoul (NED/BEL/Toyota) 6:10
7. Ronan Chabot/Gilles Pillot (FRA/FRA/Smg) 11:23
8. Christian Lavieille/Pascal Maimon (FRA/FRA/Toyota) 17:06
9. Erik Van Loon/Wouter Rosegaar (NED/NED/Mini) 17:31
10. Krzysztof Holowczyc/Xavier Panseri (POL/FRA/Mini) 18:06

Overall standings (top three)
1. Nasser Al-Attiyah/Matthieu Baumel (QAT/FRA/Mini) 12 h 30:44
2. Giniel De Villiers/Dirk Von Zitzewitz (RSA/GER/Toyota) 8:15
3. Yazeed Alrajhi/Timo Göttschalk (KSA/GER/Toyota) 23:33

Bikes
Stage 4 results (top ten)
1. Joan Barreda Bort (ESP/Honda) 3 h 27:28
2. Marc Coma (ESP/Ktm) 1:59
3. Pablo Quintanilla (CHI/Ktm) 2:49
4. Jordi Viladoms (ESP/Ktm) 10:44
5. Ruben Faria (POR/Ktm) 10:55
6. Javier Pizzolito (ARG/Honda) 11:29
7. Alain Duclos (FRA/Sherco Tvs) 12:51
8. Laia Sanz Pla-Giribert (ESP/Honda) 13:48
9. Stefan Svitko (SVK/Ktm) 13:51
10. Michael Metge (FRA/Yamaha) 14:32

Overall standings (top three)
1. Joan Barreda Bort (ESP/Honda) 13 h 10:33
2. Marc Coma (ESP/Ktm) 12:49
3. Paulo Goncalves (POR/Honda) 20:29

Dakar Rally rider died from hyperthermia, dehydration
Chilecito, Argentina: Polish motorbike rider Michal Hernik’s death on the Dakar Rally was due to hyperthermia and dehydration, early tests revealed yesterday.
The 39-year-old’s body was found on Tuesday 300 metres (yards) from the desert track without his helmet and with no apparent injury and no damage to his motorbike that would indicate an accident. Organisers sent a helicopter to look for Hernik after he failed to arrive at the finish line of Tuesday’s stage between the Argentinian towns of Villa Carlos Paz and Chilecito. His satellite tracker had stopped sending signals. The Pole was taking part in the Dakar Rally for the first time. His was the fifth death since the rally was moved to South America in 2009 over security concerns in the Sahara region and the 24th since the race was created in 1979.