Loeb edges Dakar 2nd stage as Peterhansel, Attiyah struggle

Frenchman Sebastien Loeb claimed victory in the second stage of the Dakar Rally raced across challenging desert dunes yesterday, as main rivals Stephane Peterhansel and Nasser al-Attiyah had days to forget.

Nine-time world rally champion Loeb, driving a private Peugeot entry after the French car manufacturer’s decision to withdraw from the race, held off the Mini of Nani Roma over the last kilometres of the second of ten stages between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona to win by eight seconds.

Dutchman Bernhard ten Brinke, driving a Toyota, was third at 1min 20sec, while South African Giniel de Villiers finished fourth to take over as race leader. Frenchman Peterhansel, who has won the Dakar six times on the motorbike and seven times in a car, paid the price after running his Mini aground in the dunes, eventually finishing 15 minutes behind Loeb.