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Carlos Sainz in the rally of Dakar -
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Carlos Sainz won the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally to regain the overall lead from South African Giniel De Villiers on Saturday.
The Spaniard, who notched his third stage victory in the car race, completed the rain-shortened 243-km leg in two hours 35.27 minutes to lead De Villiers by nine seconds after his closest rival finished sixth.
Third-placed Mark Miller of the US was more than 13 minutes behind the leading pair.
De Villiers had taken the lead the previous evening when Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah was disqualified for failing to follow the official route.
"The day went well, even if the stage was very hard," said Sainz after the journey from Mendoza to the Chilean port of Valparaiso.
"There was the mud and the zones with lots of water, meaning sometimes we had to deal with a bit of wheel-spin. After that it was just as tough, really hard, but everything is going well for the team."
Miller was second in the stage with compatriot Robby Gordon third.
Stephane Peterhansel's chances of retaining his title evaporated when the Frenchman twice broke down with an overheated engine.
Spaniard Marc Coma was nearly 52 minutes clear in the motorcycle race after ending the stage second behind Chilean Francisco Lopez.
The event is being staged in Argentina and Chile due to security fears in Mauritania which forced the cancellation of last year's race.
