Stage Twelve of the Dakar Rally

France took two victories on the penultimate stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally and there was a change in position atop the car class.

Stéphane Peterhansel not only took the stage victory but finds himself leading the car class entering the final stage. The 11-time Dakar winner won by three minutes and thirty-eight seconds over teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah with Nani Roma finishing five minutes and fifty-eight seconds back of Peterhansel in third.

Peterhansel will enter the final stage with a twenty-six second lead over Roma. Al-Attiyah is fifty-four minutes and seven seconds back in third. Giniel de Villiers finished fourth on the stage and is fourth overall nearly an hour and twenty-one minutes back. Orlando Terranova is fifth overall just over six minutes back.

One day after losing the truck class lead, Gérard de Rooy won stage twelve but still finds himself seven minutes and twenty-five seconds back of Andrey Karginov. De Rooy defeated Karginov by thirty-one seconds to take stage twelve. Eduard Nikolaev finished third on the stage, three minutes and eighteen seconds back of de Rooy. Nikolaev is third overall, over an hour and a half back of Karginov.

Cyril Despres won his second stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally by two minutes and seventeen minutes over overall leader Marc Coma. Olivier Pain finished third, five minutes and fifty-three seconds back. Hélder Rodrigues and Jordi Viladoms rounded out the top five. Joan Barreda Bort had a disastrous day, finishing sixty-third, two hours twenty-nine minutes and thirty-five seconds back.

Coma enters the final stage with nearly a two hour lead over Viladoms. Pain is just over ten minutes back of Viladoms in third. Despres is fourth just under four minutes back. Rodrigues is over six minutes back of Despres in fifth. Barreda Bort's terrible stage dropped him down to to seventh, over three hours back of Coma. Polish rider Kuba Przygonski moves up to sixth over twenty-seven minutes ahead of Barreda Bort.

Ignacio Casale won his second consecutive stage and sixth stage of the 2014 Dakar Rally. Casale defeated Sebastian Husseini by five minutes and five seconds with Sergey Karyakin seventeen minutes and thirteen seconds back in third. Rafał Sonik finished fourth, nineteen minutes and ten seconds back.

Following the withdrawal of Sergio Lafuente in stage eleven, Casale holds a one hour twenty-three minute and forty-two second lead over Sonik. Husseini moves up to third but he is over five and a half hours back of the Chilean. Should Casale hold on to take victory, he will become to first Chilean to win a class in the Dakar Rally.