Sainz extends lead

Volkswagen clinched a thrilling duel on the fourth leg of the Dakar Rally to win its second stage victory. On today's route from Jacobacci to Neuquén in western Argentina, Carlos Sainz fought it out with Nasser Al-Attiyah until the Volkswagen duo gained the upper hand with a lead of six seconds. Sainz now leads the famous desert classic for the third consecutive day and has increased his lead on the BMW X-raid driver to 3.46 minutes.

In their battle for the front position, Sainz and Al-Attiyah put more than two minutes between themselves and the third best team, which goes to show how intense the competition on today's 488-kilometre leg was. Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Swedish co-driver Tina Thörner were the first crew into the stage and held an advantage early on, before slipping behind eventual stage winner Sainz.