BUENOS AIRES // Spain's Carlos Sainz, aboard a Volkswagen, took the lead after the second stage of the Dakar Rally with a time of 1hr 56mins and 14 secs. The overnight leader, Qatar's Nasser al Attiyah, lost his way on the tricky second stage and had six minutes added to his time as he ended fourth overall. Attiyah enjoyed the lead in the first stage even as the pre-race favourite Sainz was catching up after the first checkpoint on the Santa Rosa-Puerto Madryn stage.However, Attiyah went off course in his BMW X3 on the sandy section and had to double back losing vital time in the process.
All drivers, including Sainz's teammate Giniel de Villiers, had difficulting negotiating over the sand. The South African completed a one-two for Volkswagen with the nine-times Dakar champion Stephane Peterhansel behind in his Mitsubishi. Meanwhile, al Attiyah was surprised by the support he received from spectators on Saturday. "I have never seen so many people around a race," the Qatari prince affirmed.
"There were more spectators than we are used to having in the World Rally Championship. The crowd was well controlled and we had no problems." About yesterday's race, de Villiers said: "The beginning was very fast, but in the middle it was not so easy with the navigation." * Agencies
