07 Jan 2021 / 22:40 H.
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Stephane Peterhansel extended his Dakar Rally lead in Saudi Arabia on Thursday in a fifth stage won by South African Giniel De Villiers.
The Frenchman, known as Mr Dakar for his record 13 wins on two wheels and four, was third on the 456km stage from Riyadh to Al Qaisumah with closest rival Nasser Al-Attiyah fourth in a Toyota.
Peterhansel now leads the Qatari, a triple Dakar winner, by six minutes and 11 seconds.
Spain s defending champion Carlos Sainz, Peterhansel s Mini team mate, remained third overall but trailing the leader by 48 minutes after ending the stage ninth.
Peterhansel extends Dakar advantage, Benavides leads the bikes reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DUBAI: The long wait for the second Dakar Rally to take place in Saudi Arabia is over.
On Sunday, the first stage of the world’s most famous desert rally will start in Jeddah as the competitors tackle the 622 km route of tracks and valleys that lead to Bisha.
Saudi hopes will rest on the shoulders of Yazeed Al Rajhi, of Overdrive Toyota in the car category, who thanked the country’s leaders for hosting the competition and promised a better showing than last year.
“Last year we had some problems with navigation, we lost a lot of time, but were happy to finish fourth,” the 39-year-old said at a press conference held by the Dakar Rally organization. ‘