Al-Attiyah, Coma, Sonik and Mardeev Are Dakar Winners

The 2015 Dakar Rally is complete and we have two first-time winners with one competitor scoring his second consecutive Dakar victory.

Robby Gordon won the final stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally in the car class. The American defeated Toyota's Leeroy Poulter by 25 seconds with Argentina Emiliano Spataro finishing four seconds behind the South African in third. Orlando Terranova finished behind his countryman in fourth, 31 seconds back with Giniel de Villiers rounding out the top five, 34 seconds back of Gordon.

Nasser Al-Attiyah clinched his second career Dakar Rally victory with a sixth place finish, 39 seconds back of Gordon. Bernhard Ten Brinke finished seventh, nine seconds behind the Qatari with Krzysztof Holowczyc finishing eighth, a second off the Dutchman. Erik Van Loon finished 57 seconds behind Gordon in ninth with Vladimir Vasilyev rounding out the top ten, a minute and one second back.

Al-Attiyah wins the 2015 Dakar Rally by 35 minutes and 34 seconds over de Villiers. Holowczyc finishes third, an hour and 31 minutes back. Van Loon and Vasilyev round out the top five, both finishing over three hours behind Al-Attiyah. Christian Lavielle finished just under three hours and 16 minutes back in sixth. Ten Brinke finished seventh, just a half hour behind the Frenchman. Carlos Sousa finished within three minutes of Ten Brinke in eight. Aidyn Rakhimbayev finished ninth, four hours and eight minutes back with Ronan Chabot rounding out the top ten, four hours and 42 minutes back.

Stéphane Peterhansel finished 11th, just over five hours behind Al-Attiyah. Terranova and Gordon finished 18th and 19th respectively, both over seven hours back.

Ivan Jakeš and Stefan Svitko made it a Slovakian 1-2 in the final stage of the bike class with 45 seconds cover the KTM riders. Toby Price swept the podium for the Austrian bike as the Australian finished a minute and seven seconds behind Jakes. Paulo Gonçalves finished fourth, eight seconds off the podium. Marc Coma scored his fifth h Dakar Rally victory in the bike class and second consecutive, finishing fifth on the stage, three minutes and 11 seconds off Jakes.

Dutch riders Hans Vogels and Frans Verhoeven finished sixth and seventh. Vogels was 25 seconds back of Coma and Verhoeven finished 59 seconds off Vogels. Pablo Quintanilla came home eighth, 17 seconds off Verhoeven. Xavier de Soultrait finished a minute and two seconds behind the Chilean with Laia Sanz rounding out the top ten, two minutes and a second behind the French rider.

Coma wins the 2015 Dakar Rally by 16 minutes and 53 seconds over Gonçalves. Price finished third, 23 minutes and 14 seconds off the Spaniard. Quintanilla and Svitko round out the top five both within an hour of Coma. Ruben Faria finished an hour and 57 minutes back in sixth. David Casteu finished two hours back in seventh. Jakeš finished 18 minutes off Casteu in eight. Sanz finished six minutes back back of Jakeš with Olivier Pain rounding out the top ten, three hours and nine minutes back.

South African Willem Saaijman won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally in the quad class. Saaijman held off Christophe Declerck by six seconds as the Frenchman was looking for a hat trick of stage victories to close out the 2015 Dakar Rally. Argentine Daniel Domaszewski finished nine seconds back in third. Italian Juan Carlos Carignani was 39 seconds back in fourth with Nelson Augusto Sanabria Galeano finishing fifth, three minutes and 42 second back.

Argentine Pablo Luis Bustamante and Chilean Sebastian Palma finished sixth and seventh on the stage. Rafał Sonik finished eighth, good enough to take his first ever Dakar title. Walter Nosiglia and Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli rounded out the top ten on the day.

Sonik wins by two hours and 54 minutes over Gonzalez Ferioli. Nosiglia finished three hours and 42 minutes back in third. Sanabria Galeano finished fourth, four hours and nine minutes back with Delcerck rounding out the top five, over five hours and 48 minutes behind the Pole.

Hans Stacey ends his 2015 Dakar Rally with a hat trick as the Dutchman won his third consecutive stage, fourth total. It was also the third consecutive Dutch 1-2 as Marcel Van Vliet finished a minute and 21 seconds back in second. Airat Mardeev clinched his first Dakar Rally victory with a third on the stage, two minutes and 23 seconds back. Dmitry Sotnikov finished fourth, 22 seconds back of Mardeev with Eduard Nikolaev rounding out the top five, three minutes and 32 seconds back.

Mardeev defeats Nikolaev by 13 minutes and 52 seconds to win the 2015 Dakar Rally in the truck class. Andrey Karginov makes it a Russian 1-2-3, 51 minutes back. Aleš Loprais finished an hour and 56 minutes back in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov finishing fifth, two hours and 24 minutes back. Stacey ends sixth, just under five minutes outside the top five.

Al-Attiyah's victory is Mini's fourth consecutive. KTM has won 15 consecutive in the bike class. Yamaha remains unbeaten in the quad class, having won all seven editions. Kamaz has won six of seven Dakars since the race moved to South America.

Coma ties Cyril Despres and Cyril Neveu for second all-time in bike class victories. Coma is one behind Stéphane Peterhansel's six Dakar titles on two wheels. Sonik is the second European to win the Dakar in the quad class. Czech rider Josef Macháček won the inaugural Dakar for quads in 2008. With Mardeev's victory, the truck class has seen five different winners in as many years.

No Changes After Penultimate Stage of 2015 Dakar Rally

All four class leaders held serve in the penultimate stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally while all four stage winners were repeats.

Orlando Terranova won his fourth stage of this year's rally and Mini's 11th stage victory with Yazeed Al-Rahji's stage eight victory for Toyota being the lone blemish. A half-minute behind Terranova was Vladimir Vasilyev with Emiliano Spataro bookending the podium for Argentina, a minute and 29 seconds behind his fellow countryman. Nasser Al-Attiyah finished fourth as the Qatari is clearly on his way to his second Dakar victory. Al-Attiyah finished eight seconds off the podium. Bernhard Ten Brinke finished fifth, a minute and 50 seconds back. 

Carlos Sousa finished two seconds behind Ten Brinke. Stéphane Peterhansel finished seventh, four minutes and four seconds back. Krzysztof Holowczyc finished 35 seconds off the Frenchman in eighth. Robby Gordon finished ninth, five minutes and 20 seconds off Terranova with Kazakhstan's Aidyn Rakhimbayev rounding out the top ten, six minutes and 15 seconds back. 

Giniel de Villiers finished 12th, eight minutes and 15 seconds back. 

Al-Attiyah leads de Villiers by 35 minutes and 39 seconds entering the final day of the Dakar. Holowczyc is third, an hour and 31 minutes back. Erik Van Loon is fourth, trailing by three hours and minute with Vladimir Vasilyev just under 11 minutes behind Van Loon. 

Peterhansel is five hours and 18 minutes back in 11th. Terranova and Gordon remain 18th and 19th, both trailing by over seven hours. 

Toby Price won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally as the Australian KTM rider defeated Joan Barreda by a minute and 55 seconds. Paulo Gonçalves rounded out the podium, three minutes and two seconds back. Slovakians Ivan Jakes and Stefan Svitko finished fourth and fifth with Jakes finishing six seconds off the podium and Svitko finishing five minutes and a seconds back of Price.

Class leader Marc Coma finished six minutes and 25 seconds back in sixth. Hélder Rodrigues finished seventh, eight minutes and 40 seconds back with Pablo Quintanilla coming home in eighth, ten minutes and seven seconds behind Price. 

Coma holds a 17-minute and 49-second lead over Gonçalves and Price trails by 25 minutes and 18 seconds after his stage victory. Quintanilla is fourth, trailing by 36 minutes and 57 seconds and Svitko rounds out the top five, 46 minutes and 43 seconds back and the final rider within an hour of Coma. 

Christophe Declerck won his second consecutive stage in the quad class. The Frenchman won by seven minutes and nine seconds over Nelson Augusto Sanabria Galeano. Walter Nosiglia finished third, nine minutes and 31 seconds back with Rafał Sonik finishing fourth, ten minutes and five seconds off Declerck. Willem Saaijman finished 22 seconds off the Pole with Argentine Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli finishing sixth, 12 minutes and 21 seconds back. 

Sonik enters the final stage with a near insurmountable two hour and 52 minute lead over Gonzalez Ferioli. Nosiglia is three hours and 41 minutes back in third. Sangria Galeano is fourth, trailing by four hours and 13 minutes with Declerck in fifth, just under six hours behind Sonik. 

Like Declerck, Hans Stacey won his second consecutive stage in the truck class as Friday featured a Dutch 1-2-3. Marcel Van Vliet finished 18 seconds back in second with Gérard de Rooy finishing 28 seconds off his Iveco teammate. Dmitry Sotnikov finished fourth, a minute and nine seconds back with class leader Airat Mardeev finishing six seconds off his fellow Russian in fifth. 

Andrey Karginov finished 56 seconds back of Mardeev in sixth with Eduard Nikolaev finishing 8th, two minutes and 47 seconds back. 

Mardeev leads Nikolaev by 12 minutes and 43 seconds with Karginov 48 minutes and 40 seconds back in third. Aleš Loprais remains fourth after finishing outside the top twenty on the stage. The Czech driver trails by an hour and 45 minutes. Sotnikov is two hours and 24 minutes back in fifth with Stacey just over seven minutes back in sixth.

The final stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally heads from Rosario to Buenos Aires. 

Class Leaders Remain Same After Stage 11

All four class leaders entering the antepenultimate stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally will enter the penultimate stage as leaders.

Nasser Al-Attiyah won his fifth stage of this year's Dakar and second in as many days. The Qatari defeated Argentine Orlando Terranova by 27 seconds with second overall Giniel de Villiers finishing 39 seconds back in third. Lithuanian Benediktas Vanagas was the surprise of the stage, finishing fourth, a second back of the South African. Vladimir Vasilyev finished a minute and 16 seconds back in fifth.

Bernhard Ten Brinke finished sixth, 56 seconds back of the Russian. Stéphane Peterhansel finished four seconds behind the Dutchman with Carlos Sousa 11 seconds behind Peterhansel. Christian Lavieille finished two minutes and 40 seconds back in ninth with Emiliano Spataro seven seconds behind Lavielle in tenth.

Robby Gordon finished 13th, three minutes and 11 seconds back.

Al-Attiyah is 29 minutes and one second ahead of de Villiers. Krzysztof Holowczyc is third overall, an hour and 28 minutes back after finishing finishing 18th on the stage. Erik Van Loon is fourth trailing by two hours and 54 minutes after finishing 12th on stage 11. Livieille rounds out the top five, three hours and four minutes back. Vasilyev is just over nine minutes behind the Frenchman. Ten Brinke is three hours and 41 minutes behind Al-Attiyah with Sousa eighth, two minutes and 40 seconds behind Ten Brinke.

Peterhansel is 11th, five hours and 16 minutes back. Terranova and Gordon are 18th and 19th respectively, both trailing by over seven hours.

Slovakian Ivan Jakes won stage 11 in the bike class, his first of the 2015 rally after Honda riders Joan Barreda and Paulo Gonçalves received penalties. The Spaniard was penalized 45 minutes while the Portuguese rider was handed 16 minutes. Ruben Faria finished five seconds back in second with Toby Price, 42 seconds back. Marc Coma finished a minute and five seconds back with Pablo Quintanilla making it a KTM sweep of top five, two minutes and 38 seconds back.

Hélder Rodrigues was the top Honda, three minutes and 50 seconds back in sixth. Stefan Svitko was three seconds back in seventh. Gonçalves finished 22nd and Barreda 40th after the penalties.

Coma has a 21-minute and 12-second lead over Gonçalves after the penalty. Price is 31 minutes and 43 seconds back with Quintanilla trailing by 33 minutes and 15 seconds. Sitka rounds out the top five, 48 minutes and seven seconds behind Coma.

In the quad class, Christophe Declerck won his first stage of this year's race by six minutes and 35 seconds over Nelson Augusto Sanabria Galeano. Walter Nosiglia and South African Willem Saaijman finished tied for third, 15 seconds behind the Paraguayan. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli rounded out the top five, seven minutes and 34 seconds back. Rafał Sonik finished fifth, nine minute and 12 seconds after the Frenchman.

Sonik leads the quads overall by two hours and 50 minutes over Gonzalez Ferioli. Nosiglia is three hours and 42 minutes back in third with Sanabria Galeano trailing by four hours and 16 minutes in fourth. Declerck is fifth after the stage victory, six hours and six minutes behind Sonik.

Hans Stacey and Gérard de Rooy made it a Dutch 1-2. It was also a 1-2 for Iveco as a minute and ten seconds separated the Dutchman. This was Stacey's first Dakar stage win since the opener of this year's rally. Forty-six seconds behind de Rooy was Eduard Nikolaev with Siarhei Viazovich finishing two minutes back in fourth. Marcel Van Vliet bookended the top five for the Netherlands, three minutes and seven seconds behind his countryman.

Airat Mardeev retained the truck class overall lead despite finishing four minutes and six second back in ninth. Mardeev leads by 11 minutes and 11 seconds over Nikolaev with Andrey Karginov 47 minutes and 44 seconds back in fourth after Karginov finished 15th on the day. Aleš Loprais is fourth, trailing by an hour and 21 minutes after finishing seventh on stage 11. Dmitry Sotnikov rounds out the top five, two hours and 24 minutes back after finishing 16th today. Stacey is just under nine minutes behind Sotnikov is sixth. De Rooy is tenth in class, seven hours and seven behind behind Mardeev.

The penultimate stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally head to Rosario, the hometown of Lionel Messi.

Dakar Heads Back to Argentina

Stage ten of the 2015 Dakar Rally has brought the competitors back to Argentina as the competitors get ready for the stretch run of this year's race.

Nasser Al-Attiyah is showing that it will take Force majeure to stop the Qatari from his second Dakar victory. The Mini driver won a class leading fourth stage and extended his overall lead to 28 minutes and 22 seconds. He beat Argentine Orlando Terranova by a minute and 35 seconds on today's stage with Toyota's Yazeed Al-Rahji rounding out the podium, three minutes and 39 seconds back. South Africans Leeroy Poulter and Giniel de Villiers finished fourth and fifth, four minutes and six seconds and four minutes and 24 seconds back respectively.

Bernhard Ten Brinke finished sixth, 57 seconds behind de Villiers with Krzysztof Holowczyc finishing 40 seconds behind the Dutchman. Argentine Emiliano Spataro finished eighth, seven minutes and 19 seconds over Al-Attiyah. Stéphane Peterhansel came home ninth, four seconds back of Spataro and Carlos Sousa rounded out the top ten, eight minutes and 18 seconds back.

Robby Gordon finished 20th, 18 minutes and 32 seconds back.

As stated above, Al-Attiyah extended his overall lead with de Villiers remaining second. Al-Rahji trails by 43 minutes and eight seconds in third. Holowczyc is an hour and 23 seconds back in fourth with Erik Van Loon rounding out the top five, two hours and 51 seconds back after finishing 11th on stage ten.

Peterhansel is 14th, five hours and 14 minutes back. Terranova is 19th, seven hours and eight minutes back with Gordon, just over 33 minutes behind the Argentine.

Joan Barreda won his third stage of the 2015 rally but it appears to be too little too late to resurrect his hopes after a disastrous stage eight. The Honda rider beat current bike class leader Marc Coma by a minute and 39 seconds. Ruben Faria finished third, 18 seconds behind Coma. Toby Price finished two minutes and 14 seconds after Barreda in fourth with Paulo Gonçalves rounding out the top five, three minutes and 46 seconds back of his fellow Honda rider.

Stefan Svitko was sixth on the day, six minutes and 22 seconds back with Hélder Rodrigues four seconds back. Pablo Quintanilla finished three seconds behind the Portuguese rider.

Coma leads Gonçalves by seven minutes and 35 seconds. Quintanilla is 31 minutes and 42 seconds back in third with Price 24 seconds back of the Chilean. Svitko rounds out the top five, 45 minutes and 19 seconds off Coma.

Faria is an hour and 41 minutes back in seventh, Rodrigues is three hours and 22 minutes back in 12th and Barreda rounds out the top fifteen, four hours and 37 minutes behind Coma.

In the quad class, Nelson Augusto Sanabria Galeano won his second stage of the 2015 race but the bigger story was the withdrawal of defending winner Ignacio Casale. The Chilean withdrew after a mechanical problem. He was second, trailing by four minutes to Rafał Sonik entering the stage and was leading the class after stage eight. With Casale's withdrawal, we are guaranteed a first time overall winner in the quad class.

Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli finished three minutes and 40 seconds back of Sanabria Galeano on stage ten. Walter Nosiglia finished 50 seconds behind the Argentine. Sonic finished five minutes and 44 seconds back in fourth with France's Christophe Declerck rounding out the top five, finishing two minutes behind the Pole.

The quad class is Sonik's to lose in the final three stages as the Pole leads Gonzalez Ferioli by two hours and 51 miuntes. Nostalgia is third, three hours and 44 minutes back. Sanabria Galeano jumped up to fourth, four hours and 18 minutes back and Victor Manuel Gallegos Lozic is fifth, five hours and 35 seconds back after finishing sixth on stage ten.

Eduard Nikolaev won stage ten, his sixth this year, by 49 seconds over Airat Mardeev. Siarhei Viazovich finished a minute and 19 seconds after Nikolaev in third. Aleš Loprais finished fourth, four minutes and 42 seconds back. Dutchmen Gérard de Rooy and Hans Stacey finished fifth and sixth with de Rooy five minutes and 19 seconds off Nikolaev and Stacey a minute and 57 seconds off his fellow countryman.

Andrey Karginov had a rough day, finishing out of the top ten in 14th, 22 minutes and 53 seconds back.

Mardeev sacrificed some time to Nikolaev but still holds a 13-minute and 21-second lead after ten stages. Karginov has fallen to 42 minutes and 46 seconds back in third with Loprais in fourth, an hour and 22 minutes back. Dmitry Sotnikov rounds out the top five, two hours and 19 minutes back after finishing 16th, just over 28 minutes back of Nikolaev.

Stacey is sixth, two hours and 37 minutes off with de Rooy over seven hours and ten minutes back in ninth.

Stage 11 heads from Saltma to Termas de Río Hondo, home to the MotoGP Argentine Grand Prix as the teams back their way back to Buenos Aires.

Sonik Retakes Quad Class Lead

Stage nine of the 2015 Dakar Rally saw the quad class lead change again. After Pole Rafał Sonik lost the lead on stage eight, he retook the point after finishing second on stage nine.

Chilean Victor Gallegos Lozic won today's stage, 15 minutes and 35 seconds ahead of Sonik with Uruguayan Sergio Lafuente finishing third, 25 minutes and 29 seconds back of Gallegos Lozic. Ignacio Casale entered as the quad class lead but dropped to second overall after finishing 26 minutes and 24 seconds back in fourth on the stage. Argentine Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli finished fifth, 30 minutes and 21 seconds back.

Sonik leads Casale by four minutes with Lafuente trailing by 52 minutes and 16 seconds back in third position. Gonzalez Ferioli is two hours and 53 minutes back in fourth position. Bolivian Walter Nosiglia rounds out the top five over three hours and 45 minutes back.

Nani Roma won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally. The defending winner in the car class held off current car class leader Nasser Al-Attiyah by six minutes and 27 seconds. Vladimir Vasilyev made it a Mini sweep of the podium with the Russian finishing 15 minutes and 52 seconds off Roma. Toyota's Giniel de Villiers finished 21 minutes and 58 seconds back in fourth with his teammate Yazeed Al-Rahji rounding out the top five, 27 minutes and 16 seconds back.

Mini drivers Krzysztof Holowczyc and Orlando Terranova finished sixth and seventh, with the Pole 29 and a half minutes back of Roma and the Argentine a minute and four seconds behind Holowczyc. Robby Gordon finished eighth, 35 minutes and 59 seconds back. Frenchmen Cyril Despres and Pierre Lachaume rounded out the top ten on stage nine with 13 seconds separating the two. Despres finished 45 minutes and 22 seconds back of Roma.

Stéphane Peterhansel finished over three hours and 21 seconds back of Roma on stage nine.

Al-Attiyah leads de Villiers by 23 minutes and 58 seconds. Al-Rahji is 39 minutes and 29 seconds back in third with Holowczyc in fourth, an hour and 16 minutes back. Erik Van Loon rounds out the top five, two hours and 41 minutes back after finishing 20th on the stage.

Peterhansel fell to 14th overall, five hours and six minutes back. Terranova is 19th, seven hours and six minutes back with Gordon rounding out the top twenty, seven hours and 22 minutes back.

Hélder Rodrigues won his second stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally by three minutes and 51 seconds over fellow Honda rider and Portuguese Paulo Gonçalves. Marc Coma finished third but holds on to his class lead after finishing seven minutes and 34 seconds off Rodrigues. Argentine Javier Pizzolito finished fourth, 20 minutes and seven seconds back. Stefan Svitko rounded out the top five, 21 minutes and 40 seconds back.

KTM riders riders Toby Price and Pablo Quintanilla finished sixth and seventh with the Australian 23 minutes and nine seconds back. The Chilean finished six seconds behind Price. Olivier Pain finished 28 minutes and nine seconds back in eighth. David Casteu finished three seconds back of Pain in ninth. Joan Barreda rounded out the top ten on stage nine after falling out of the top ten from the lead on stage eighth. Barreda finished 34 minutes and 47 seconds off Rodrigues.

Coma has a five-minute and 28-second advantage over Gonçalves. Quintanilla is third, trailing Coma by 26 minutes and 52 seconds. Price is 31 minutes and 31 seconds back in fourth. Svitko is fifth, 40 minutes and 36 seconds back.

Rodrigues is 12th, three hours and 18 minutes back after his stage victory. Barreda is 17th, four hours and 38 minutes back.

Airat Mardeev won his second stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally and extended his overall truck class lead. Mardeev won by a minute and 29 seconds over Eduard Nikolaev. Gérard de Rooy rounded out the podium, seven minutes and five seconds back. Andrey Karginov finished fourth, 15 minutes and 33 seconds back with Aleš Loprais finishing fifth, 18 minutes and 58 seconds off Mardeev.

Mardeev leads by 14 minutes and ten seconds over Nikolaev entering the final four stages. Karginov trails by 20 minutes and 42 seconds in 3rd. Loprais is an hour and 18 minutes back in fourth. Dmitry Sotnikov rounds out the top five, an hour and 51 minutes back after finishing eighth on stage nine.

The Dakar Rally will head back to Argentina for the final four stages as the teams head from Calama, Chile to Salta, Argentina for stage ten.

New Leaders in Bike and Quad Classes

Lead changes occurred in both bike and quad classes on Monday as the cars and trucks took their rest days. Each class had the defending champion take point as the 2015 Dakar Rally heads into the final five stages.

Chilean Pablo Quintanilla won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally and is the first non-European rider to win in the bike class in this year's event. The KTM rider defeated Yamaha's Juan Pedrero Garcia by 11 seconds with Stefan Svitko finishing a second back of the Spaniard. Toby Price finished fourth, 41 seconds back with Laia Sanz rounding out the top five, two minutes and 31 seconds behind Quintanilla. 

The big shake up was in the overall classifications as Marc Coma finished ninth on the stage, seven minutes and 37 seconds off the Chilean but the defending Dakar winner has taken the overall lead as Honda's Joan Barreda finished 72nd on the day, three hours and five minutes behind Quintanilla. Barreda had to be towed at one point of the stage by Jeremias Israel Esquerre. 

Coma holds a 9-minute and 11-second lead over Paulo Gonçalves, who finished fifteenth on the stage, just under five minutes behind Coma. Quintanilla is 11 minutes and 11 seconds back in third with Price 15 minutes and 56 seconds back in fourth. Svitko rounds out the top five, trailing Coma by 26 and a half minutes. Ruben Faria is sixth, 34 minutes and 34 seconds back. Fair finished seven seconds back of Coma on stage eight. Alain Duclos is the final rider within an hour of the overall leader, 58 minutes and eight seconds back in seventh position. 

Barreda dropped to 16th, two hours and 51 seconds back of Coma in the overall classifications. 

In the quad class, Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli won stage eight, his first of the 2015 Dakar Rally. The Argentine won by seven minutes and 54 seconds over Ignacio Casale but he Chilean jumped tot he overall lead in the quad class. Sergio Lafuente finished third, 11 minutes and four seconds back. Bolivian Walter Nosiglia finished 16 minutes and 38 seconds back in fourth with Frenchman Christophe Declerck in fifth, 29 minutes and 37 seconds back.

Rafał Sonik entered stage eight as the quad class leader but after finishing eighth on the stage, 36 minutes and 42 seconds after Gonzalez Ferioli, the Pole will enter the final five stages six minutes and 49 seconds behind the defending quad class champion. Lafuente trails Casale by 49 minutes and 11 seconds back in third. Gonzalez Ferioli is still over two hours and 45 minutes behind the Chilean despite winning today's stage. 

All four class will be in competition for the final five stages of the 2015 rally with the competitors heading from Iquique to Calama. Tomorrow's stage is the final stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally to end in Chile. 

Three New Winners on Sunday of Dakar

The cars and trucks headed back to Iquique for stage eight while the bikes and quad headed to Uyuni, Bolivia for their seventh stage. Overall, we saw three competitors pick up their first stage win of the 2015 Dakar Rally on Sunday. We will start with the stage eight results before heading to those still on stage seven.

Yazeed Al-Rahji won his first stage in the car class by a minute and 12 seconds over yesterday's stage winner Orlando Terranova. This was the first stage victory of the rally for Toyota and the first time a Mini didn't end out the top step of the podium. Nasser Al-Attiyah finished third, two minutes and 36 seconds back and will hold on to his overall lead heading into the rest day tomorrow. Giniel de Villiers finished two minutes and 49 seconds back of his Toyota teammate in fourth with Krzysztof Holowczyc rounding out the top five, three minutes and 12 seconds back.

Nani Roma finished 12 seconds behind Holowczyc in sixth with Stéphane Peterhansel 22 seconds behind the Spaniard in seventh. Stage five winner Vladimir Vasiley finished eighth, six minutes off Al-Rahji. Chilean Boris Garafulic finished ninth, ten minutes and nine seconds back with Carlos Sousa rounding out the top ten, 11 minutes and 17 seconds off Al-Rahji.

Robby Gordon finished an hour and seven minutes behind Al-Rahji in 43rd position.

Al-Attiyah leads de Villiers by eight minutes and 27 seconds with Al-Rahji 18 minutes and 40 seconds back after the stage victory. Holowczyc is 54 minutes and 38 seconds back of Al-Attiyah with Bernhard Ten Brinke rounding out the top five, hour and 22 minutes back.

Peterhansel is eighth, an hour and 51 minutes behind the Mini driver. Terranova is six hours and 42 seconds back in 23rd position with Gordon just over ten minutes behind the Argentine in 24th.

Eduard Nikolaev dropped from leading the truck class to fourth on stage seven but recovered to win stage eight by 11 minutes and 16 seconds over Gérard de Rooy. Andrey Karginov finished 14 minutes and 58 seconds back in third. Aleš Loprais finished 20 minutes and a second back in fourth with overall truck leader Airat Mardeev finishing fifth, 32 minutes and two seconds back.

Mardeev leads by five minutes and nine seconds over Karginov heading into the rest day. Nikolaev has cut the deficit to Mardeev to 12 minutes and 41 seconds with the victory today. Loprais is 59 minutes and 19 seconds back in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov fifth, an hour and 14 minutes back after finishing ninth on stage eight. Hans Stacey is sixth, two hours and five minutes behind Mardeev. The Dutchman finished seventh on stage eight.

Monday is rest day for cars and trucks before heading from Iquique to Calama.

The bikes and quad went to Bolivia and Paulo Gonçalves won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally in the bike class. The Portuguese rider defeated Marc Coma by 14 seconds with Matthias Walkner finishing a half minute off in third. Pablo Quintanilla finished a minute and two seconds behind Walkner with Toby Price finishing 17 seconds behind the Chilean in fifth.

Juan Pedrero Garcia finished sixth, three minutes and 20 seconds behind Gonçalves with Alain Duclos finishing 28 seconds behind the Yamaha rider. Hélder Rodrigues finished eighth, four minutes and five seconds off his fellow Portuguese and Honda rider. Stefan Svitko finished ninth, five minutes and nine seconds back with South African Riaan Van Niekerk rounding out the top ten, six minutes and six seconds back. Jordi Viladoms finished four seconds off the South African in 11th with class leader Joan Barreda three seconds off Viladoms in 12th.

Barreda's class lead has been cut to six minutes and 28 seconds as Coma will try to make a charge in the second half of the rally. Gonçalves is ten minutes and 59 seconds back in third. Quintanilla is 25 minutes and 16 seconds back in fourth with Price 29 minutes and 20 seconds back in fifth.

Rodrigues is sixth, 33 minutes and 56 seconds off Barreda with Svitko 27 seconds behind the Portguese rider. Ruben Faria trails by 40 minutes and 55 seconds in eighth after finishing 14th on stage seven. Duclos is 50 minutes and 21 seconds back in ninth with David Casteu rounding out the top ten, trailing by nearly an hour and 17 minutes.

Paraguayan Nelson Augusto Sanabria Galeano won stage seven in the quad class by five minutes and 46 seconds over class leader Rafał Sonik. Ignacio Casale finished 11 minutes and 37 seconds behind Sanabria Galeano. Chilean Ricardo Vinet finished fourth, 24 minutes and 20 seconds back with Sergio Lafuente rounding out the top five, 32 minutes and 33 seconds behind the Paraguayan.

Sonic leads Casale by 21 minutes and 59 seconds with Lafuente an hour and eight minutes back in third. Sanabria Gaeano is three hours and 25 minutes behind the Pole.

The bike and quads will now double-back from Uyuni to Iquique on Monday.

Terranova and Loprais Victorious on Stage Seven

The car class remained status quo after heading to Uyuni, Bolivia for the finish of stage seven but the truck class was shaken up as they stayed in Chile.

Orlando Terranova won his third stage of the Dakar Rally by two minutes and 20 seconds over Toyota' Yazeed Alrahji. Bernhard Ten Brinke finished third, six seconds behind his fellow Toyota driver. Krzysztof Holowczyc finished fourth, two minutes and 57 seconds back of the Argentine with Nani Roma rounding out the top five, four minutes and two seconds off his Mini teammate.

Giniel de Villiers finished sixth on stage seventh, six minutes and 50 seconds back. Overall leader Nasser Al-Attiyah finished seventh, nine minutes and 48 seconds back of Terranova with Stéphane Peterhansel finishing ten minutes and 43 seconds back in eighth position. Robby Gordon came home in ninth, five seconds behind the Frenchman. Stage five winner Vladimir Vasilyev rounded out the top ten, 13 minutes and 32 seconds back.

Al-Attiyah holds an eight minute and 14 second lead over de Villiers after seven stages. Alrahri is 21 minutes and 16 seconds back in third with Holowczyc 54 minutes and two seconds back in fourth. Ten Brinke is three minutes and one second behind the Pole in fifth. Erik Van Loon is sixth, over an hour and quarter back after finishing thirteenth on stage seven. Christian Lavieille is seventh, an hour and 37 minutes behind Al-Attiyah. Peterhansel is eighth, an hour and 50 minutes back.

Gordon is 23rd, five hours and 48 minutes back while Terranova is a position behind the American, trailing Al-Attiyah by six hours and 43 minutes after the stage victory. Roma is 35th, nine hours and 19 minutes back.

While the cars went to Bolivia, the trucks stayed in Chile and headed to Atacama. Aleš Loprais won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally by five minutes and 39 seconds over Gérard de Rooy. Andrey Karginov finished ten seconds behind the Dutchman in third position with Dmitry Sotnikov coming home seven minutes and 17 seconds back in fourth. Airat Mardeev finished fifth, eight minutes and 14 seconds off the Czech driver but retook the truck leads after Eduard Nikolaev had a disastrous stage. Nikolaev finished an hour and six behind Loprais. 

Hans Stacey finished sixth, 25 minutes and 59 seconds off Loprais. 

Mardeev has a 22 minute and 13 second lead over Karginov while Sotnikov is 44 minutes and six seconds back in third. Nikolaev fell to fourth, 44 minutes and 23 seconds back of his fellow Kamaz driver. Loprais rounds out the top five, an hour and 11 minutes behind Mardeev. Siarhei Viazovich is sixth, an hour and 46 minutes back after finishing 13th on stage seven. Stacey is seventh, an hour and 47 minutes back. 

The bikes and quads return to competition tomorrow as they will head from Iquique to Uyuni, Bolivia. The cars will turn around and head back to Iquique as will the trucks before their rest day on Monday. 

 

Leaders Remain Same After Stage Six

There were no lead changes on stage six of the Dakar Rally as two class leaders extended their leads with stage victories.

Nasser Al-Attiyah won his third stage in the car class. The Qatari has won every even-numbered stage so far. Thirty-seven seconds back in second position on the stage and still second overall is Giniel de Villiers as Nani Roma finished a minute and 24 seconds back in third. Robby Gordon finished fourth, 21 seconds behind the Spaniard. Orlando Terranova rounded out the five, five minutes and 48 seconds back of his fellow Mini driver.

Toyota driver Berhard Ten Brinke and Yazeed Alrahji finished sixth and seventh on the stage, eight minutes and four seconds and eight minutes and 15 seconds back respectively. Krzysztof Holowczyc came home in eighth, 11 minutes and 58 seconds back. Erik Van Loon finished ninth, 13 minutes and 18 seconds behind Al-Attiyah while Frenchman Christian Lavieille rounding out the top ten, five seconds behind the Dutchman.

Al-Attiyah's overall lead is now 11 minutes and 12 seconds over de Villiers. Alrahji is 28 minutes and 44 seconds back while Holowczyc trails by an hour and 53 seconds. Ten Brinke is an hour and four minutes back in fifth. Van Loon follows his fellow Dutchman, just over another two minutes back. Lavieille jumped to seventh, an hour and 27 minutes back. Carlos Sousa is an hour and 47 seconds back in eighth with Ronan Chabot just over six minutes behind Sousa. Stéphane Peterhansel is tenth, 14 seconds back of Chabot after finishing 20th on stage six.

Gordon is 25th, five hours and 47 minutes back with Terranova 29th, nearly an hour back of the American. Roma is 39th, nearly nine and a half hours behind Al-Attiyah.

Hélder Rodrigues won his first stage of the 2015 Dakar by a minute and ten seconds over KTM's Toby Price. Paulo Gonçalves bookended the podium for Portugal and Honda finishing 32 seconds behind the Australian. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla came home in fourth, six minutes and 11 seconds back with Slovakian Stefan Svitko finishing 31 seconds back of Quintanilla.

Bike leader Joan Barreda finished sixth, seven minutes and 20 seconds off the stage winner. Jeremias Israel Esquerre came home in seventh, eight minutes and 58 seconds back. Marc Coma finished nine minutes and 14 seconds off Barreda in eighth. Ruben Faria finished 30 seconds behind Coma in ninth. Ivan Jakes finished tenth on stage six, 13 minutes and 59 seconds back.

Barreda leads overall by 12 minutes and 27 seconds over Coma. Gonçalves is 17 minutes and 12 seconds back in third with Quintanilla 29 minutes and 59 seconds behind in fourth. Trailing by 33 minutes and 44 seconds is Price. Rodrigues is 36 minutes and four seconds back after his stage victory. Faria is seventh, trailing Barreda by 40 minutes and 27 seconds with Svitko a minute behind Faria in eighth. Alain Duclos is ninth after finishing 13th on the stage. The Frenchman 52 minutes and 56 seconds back. Israel Esquerre rounds out the top ten, an hour and 48 seconds off Barreda.

Ignacio Casale won his third stage of the 2015 Dakar and took eight minutes and 58 seconds out of Rafał Sonik's lead as the Pole finished second on stage six. Sergio Lafunete finished third, 23 minutes and eight seconds back of Casale. Argentines Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli and Sebastian Halpern rounded out the top five with Gonzalez Ferioli finishing 27 minutes and 35 seconds after Casales and Halpern finishing nearly 20 minutes after his fellow Argentine.

Despite losing such a large amount of time on stage six, Sonik still leads Casale by 16 minutes and eight seconds. Lafuente is 41 minutes and 31 seconds behind Sonik with Gonzalez Ferioli an hour and 49 seconds back. Bolivian Walter Nosilglia is fifth in the quad class, nearly three hours behind Sonik with Halpern in sixth, three hours and three seconds back.

Eduard Nikolaev won his third consecutive stage as the Kamaz driver extended his lead by five minutes and 37 seconds over Airat Mardeev. Andrey Karginov made it an Kamaz sweep of the podium, ten minutes and 40 seconds back in third. Gérard de Rooy finished 31 seconds off the podium in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov rounding out the top five, a minute and 13 seconds after de Rooy.

Siarhei Viazovich finished 25 minutes and 16 seconds off Nikolaev in sixth as Aleš Loprais finished nearly two minutes after the Belarusian in sixth. Hans Stacey finished eighth, 30 minutes and 28 seconds back.

Nikolaev's overall lead is 13 minutes and 38 seconds over Mardeev with Karginov nearly a half hour off Mardeev in third. Sotnikov makes it four Russians in the top four 58 minutes and 41 seconds back of Nikolaev. Viazovich rounds out the top five, an hour and 16 seconds back with Loprais an hour and 33 minutes off the lead. Stacey is just over ten minutes back of Loprais.

The bikes and quad will rest on Saturday as the cars leave Chile for Uyuni, Bolivia. The trucks will head remain in Chile and head to Atacama for stage seven. The bikes and quads will head to Uyuni on Saturday.

First Time Winner Highlights Stage Five

While front-runners won in the bike, quad and truck classes, the car class saw an unexpected first time winner.

Russian Vladimir Vasilyev won stage five by 20 seconds over Yazeed Alrajhi. Robby Gordon finished third, a minute and 25 seconds back. Nasser Al-Attiyah held on to his car class lead with a fourth place finish, three minutes and 24 seconds behind his fellow Mini driver Yasilyev. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the top five, four minutes and four seconds back.

Giniel de Villiers came home sixth, five minutes and 44 seconds back. Four Minis rounded out the top ten. Pole Krzysztof Holowczyc finished eight minutes and 49 seconds after Vasilyev with Nani Roma finishing eighth, ten minutes and two seconds back. Erik Van Loon and Orlando Terranova finished ninth and tenth with the Dutchman 11 minutes and 35 seconds off of Vasilyev with the Argentine finishing 19 seconds behind Van Loon.

Al-Attiyah leads de Villiers by ten minutes and 35 seconds with Alrahji 20 minutes and 29 seconds back. Holowcyzc is 48 minutes and 55 seconds back in fourth with Van Loon rounding out the top five, 53 minutes and 25 seconds behind Al-Attiyah. Bernhard Ten Brinke is 56 minutes and 19 seconds back in sixth. Vasilyev jumped up to seventh with his stage win but is nearly an hour and ten minutes off the overall lead.

Peterhansel is ninth, an hour and 29 seconds back of the Qatari. Gordon is five fours and 45 minutes minutes back. Terranova lost a lot of time on stage four and is now nearly six hours and 48 minutes off the lead.

Marc Coma won in the bike class, his first of the 2015 race. The KTM rider won by two minutes and 16 seconds over Joan Barreda. Pablo Quintanilla finished third, two minutes and 40 seconds back with Slovakian Stefan Svitko coming home in fourth, three minutes and 54 seconds back. Paulo Gonçalves rounded out the top five, four minutes and 37 seconds after Coma with fellow Portuguese Honda rider Hélder Rodrigues six minutes and 35 seconds back in sixth.

Jeremias Israel Esquerre seven minutes and ten seconds back in seventh with Matthias Walkner finishing 14 seconds after the Chilean. Alain Duclos finished ninth, nine minutes and 57 seconds back. Toby Price finished eight seconds after the Frenchman with Jordi Viladoms finishing 11th, 13 minutes and 48 seconds after Coma.

Barreda retains the bike lead with Coma ten minutes and 33 seconds back. Gonçalves is third, 22 minutes and 50 seconds back. Quintanilla is fourth, 31 minutes and six seconds back. Viladoms is fourth, just over five minutes behind Quintanilla. Ruben Faria is sixth, 38 minutes and 13 seconds behind Barreda after finishing 15th on stage five. Walkner is 23 seconds behind Faria with Price a minute and 18 seconds behind the Austrian. Svitko jumped to ninth, 42 minutes and five seconds behind Barreda and Rodrigues rounds out the top ten, 48 seconds behind the Slovakian.

Duclos and Israel Esquerre are 11th and 12th, the Frenchman 44 minutes and 12 seconds back and the Chilean 59 minutes and ten seconds back.

Rafał Sonik won his second consecutive stage and dominated winning by ten minutes and 51 seconds over Ignacio Casale. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli finished third, 21 minutes and 41 seconds back. Sergio Lafuente finished fifty seconds behind Gonzalez Ferioli in fourth with Chilean Victor Manuel Gallegos Lozic rounding out the top five, just over a half hour behind Sonik.

Sonik's lead has been extended to 24 minutes and 23 seconds over Casale. Lafunete is 26 minutes and 20 seconds back in third. Gonzalez Ferioli is just over an hour and a half back in fourth. Argentine Pablo Copetti is fifth overall, nearly an hour and 43 minutes back.

Eduard Nikolaev took the truck class lead by winning his second consecutive stage. The Russian defeated class leader entering the stage, Airat Mardeev by nine minutes and 58 seconds. Belarusian Siarhei Viazovich finished third, 15 mounts and 46 seconds back. Aleš Loprais finished 57 seconds back in fourth with Dmitry Sotnikov rounding out the top five, 20 minutes and 45 seconds back. Andrey Karginov finished six minutes and three seconds off Sotnikov.

Nikolaev holds an eight minute and one second lead over Mardeev with Loprais 27 minutes and 28 seconds back in third. Karginov is fourth, eight seconds behind the Czech. Stoking rounds out the top five, 45 minutes and 57 seconds back. Viazovich is sixth, 51 seconds and 28 seconds back. Hans Stacey dropped to seventh, an hour and 13 minutes back after finishing over 57 minutes back in fifteenth on stage five.

Stage six heads up the Pacific Coast from Antofagasta and Iquique.

Al-Attiyah, Barreda Win; Sonik Back on Point

Two class leaders won stage four while there was another lead change in the quad class as the Dakar Rally heads from Argentina to Chile.

Nasser Al-Attiyah won stage four of the 2015 Dakar Rally, his second of the rally. The Qatari won by two minutes and 40 seconds over his Mini teammate Nani Roma. The Toyotas of Giniel de Villiers and Yazeed Al-Rajhi came home behind the Minis with the South African finishing two minutes and 57 seconds after Al-Attiyah and the Saudi coming home three minutes and 25 seconds after the Qatari. Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the top five on the stage, five minutes and 48 seconds back.

Al-Attiyah still leads overall, eight minutes and 15 seconds ahead of de Villiers. Alrahji is third, 23 minutes and 33 seconds back with Bernhard Ten Brinke making it three consecutive Toyotas in the overall classifications with the Dutchman 42 minutes and 32 seconds back. Krzysztof Hołowczyc rounds out the top five, 43 minutes and 30 seconds behind his fellow Mini driver. Robby Gordon finished an hour and 23 minutes after Al-Attiyah.

Peterhansel is currently 12th, nearly an hour and 19 minutes back while Gordon is five hours and 47 minutes back. Roma trails by nine hours and 17 minutes.

Notable drivers yet to finish in the car class are stage one and three winners Orlanda Terranova and Carlos Sainz.

Honda's Joan Barreda won his second stage of the 2015 Dakar by a minute and 59 seconds over KTM's Marc Coma. Chilean Pablo Quintanilla finished third on stage four, two minutes and 49 seconds after Barreda. Jordi Viladoms and Ruben Faria made it four KTMs in the top five with the Spaniard finishing ten minutes and 44 seconds back and the Portuguese rider finishing 11 seconds after Viladoms.

Alain Duclos finished seventh, 12 minutes and 51 seconds back of Barreda. The Portuguese Honda riders Paulo Gonçalves and Hélder Rodrigues had a rough fourth stage with Gonçalves finishing 12th, nearly 15 minutes after Barreda and Rodrigues finishing 18th, just over 20 and a half minutes after Barreda. Stage three winner, Matthias Walkner finished 22nd, 22 minutes and 55 seconds back. Yamaha rider Olivier Pain finished 24th, 25 minutes after Barreda.

Barreda extended is overall lead to 12 minutes and 49 seconds over Coma. Gonçalves is third, 20 minutes and 29 seconds back with Faria trailing by 23 minutes and five seconds. Viladoms rounds out the top five, 24 minutes and 51 seconds behind Barreda. Quintanilla is sixth, a half hour and 42 seconds back. Australian Toby Price trails Quintanilla by 23 seconds. Walkner is eighth is 33 minutes and 28 seconds back with Duclos and Rodrigues rounding out the top ten. Then Frenchman is 36 minutes and 31 seconds back with Rodrigues 39 minutes and five seconds back.

Pain is 20th, nearly one hour and three minutes back.

After losing the quad lead after a 15-minute penalty, Rafał Sonik retook the lead by winning stage four by three minutes and 26 seconds over Ignacio Casale, who had a 20-minute penalty added to his overall time. Mohammad Abu-Issa finished third, nearly ten minutes after Casale. Quad leader entering stage four, Sergio Lafuente finished fourth, 40 seconds behind Abu-Issa. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli rounded out the top five for stage four, finishing over 21 minutes after Sonik.

Sonik holds the overall quad lead by three minutes and 49 seconds over Lafuente. Casale is 13 minutes and 32 seconds back in third with Abu-Issa 19 minutes and 47 seconds back. Sebastian Halpern trails by 59 minutes and 47 seconds, fifth overall. Halpern finished 15th, over an hour after Sonik on stage four.

Andrey Karginov made it four different stage winners in the truck class in as many stages. The Russian won by three seconds over fellow Kamaz driver Eduard Nikolaev. Airat Mardeev finished third, six minutes and 13 seconds after Karginov for a Kamaz sweep of the podium. Aleš Loprais finished 11 minutes back in fourth with Hans Stacey rounding out the top five, 29 seconds after the Czech driver.

Mardeev retains the truck lead after stage four but the gap is now only a minute and 45 seconds to Karginov. Nikolaev is a minute and 57 seconds back with Loprais 12 minutes and 42 seconds back. Stacey rounds out the top five, 17 minutes and 58 seconds back.

Stage five, the first stage to take place entirely in Chile, will head from Copiapo to Antofagasta.

Two Lead Changes After Dakar Third Stage

Stage three saw our first repeat stage winner of the 2015 Dakar Rally but two class leads changed, one because of a penalty. We start this stage three recap with the news that bike competitor Michal Henrik has died. The Polish rider was competing in his first Dakar Rally and was 84th in the bike classifications. Henrik was 39 years old.

Orlando Terranova won his second stage as the Argentine won by a minute and 54 seconds over Giniel de Villiers. Yazeed Alrajhi followed his Toyota teammate in third position, finishing 58 seconds behind the South African. Carlos Sainz finished fourth, four minutes and eight seconds back with Nasser Al-Attiyah finishing eight seconds behind the Peugeot driver and retaining the overall lead.

Nani Roma finished sixth on stage three, five minutes and 58 seconds back of his Mini teammate Terranova but has a lot of work to do after a disastrous first stage. Stéphane Peterhansel finished seventh, nine minutes and 26 seconds off of the Argentine.

Krzysztof Holowczyc finished 12th, 19 minutes and 14 seconds back while Robby Gordon came home 15th, 21 minutes and 56 seconds after Terranova.

Al-Attiyah holds a five minute and 18 second lead over de Villiers. Terranova jumps to third after his stage victory but is 18 minutes and five seconds behind his Mini teammate. Sainz and Alrajhi round out the top five with the Spaniard 19 minutes and 32 seconds back and the Saudi trailing by 20 minutes and eight seconds. Holowczyc is 25 minutes and 24 seconds back in sixth position.

Peterhansel is an nearly hour and 13 minutes behind Al-Attiyah in 16th position. Gordon is in 40th, four hours and 24 minutes back with Roma up to 55th, nearly nine and a quarter hours behind his teammate.

Austrian Matthias Walkner won stage three for KTM by 40 seconds over fellow KTM rider Marc Coma. Class leader Joan Barreda finished third, a minute and 53 seconds back, enough for the Honda ride to retain the lead. Toby Price finished two minutes and 45 seconds behind Walkner in fourth position. Paulo Gonçalves rounded out the top five, finishing four seconds behind the Australian Price.

Alain Duclos finished three minutes and 11 seconds back in sixth with Ruben Faria finishing seventh, fifteen seconds after Duclos. Jeremias Israel Esquerre came home in eighth position, four minutes and two seconds back with Jordi Viladoms finishing 34 seconds after the Chilean Israel Esquerre. Rounding out the top ten, five minutes and 21 seconds after Walkner was Juan Pedrero Garcia. Stage one winner Sam Sunderland finished two seconds after Pedrero Garcia.

Barreda leads Gonçalves by five minutes and 33 seconds with Walkner jumping to third overall, five minutes behind the Portuguese rider. Coma is 17 seconds behind the Austrian with Faria rounding out the top five, 12 minutes and 10 seconds behind Barreda.

Price is 14 seconds behind Faria in sixth. Viladoms is 14 minutes and seven seconds behind with Israel Esquerre in eighth, 18 minutes and 33 seconds back. Hélder Rodrigues dropped to ninth after finishing fifteenth on stage three. The Portuguese rider is a second behind Israel Esquerre. Pedrero Garcia rounds out the top ten, 23 minutes and two seconds back.

Duclos is 38 seconds back of Pedrero Garcia in 11th. Olivier Pain fell to 19th, nearly 38 minutes behind Barreda after finishing 21st on the stage. Sunderland jumps to 50th but is two hours and 37 minutes off the overall lead.

Lucas Bonetto made it two victorious Argentines as he won the quad class riding for Honda. Bonetto won by 58 seconds over fellow Argentine Sebastian Halpern. Rafał Sonik finished third, two minutes and 14 seconds back as did Gaston Gonzalez, who made it three Argentines in the top four. Despite his finish, Sonik will not have the quad lead heading into stage four as the Pole was handed a 15-minute penalty. Mohammed Abu-Issa finished fifth, two minutes and 29 seconds back with new class leader, Sergio Lafuente finishing ten seconds behind the Qatari in sixth. Defending quad winner Ignacio Casale came home in seventh, five minutes and 24 seconds after Bonetto.

Lafuente leads Casale by 41 seconds with Halpern in third, seven minutes and 28 seconds back. The 15-minute penalty drops Sonik to fourth, ten minutes and five seconds behind the Uruguayan. Abu-Issa remains fifth, 16 minutes and 38 seconds back.

The lead change occurred in the truck class as Airat Mardeev took the lead after winning stage three. Mardeev won the stage by a minute and 51 seconds over defending winner Andrey Karginov. Gérard de Rooy finished third, four and a half minutes behind Mardeev. Aleš Loprais finished fourth, seven minutes back. Russian Dmitry Sotnikov rounded out the top five, finishing 32 seconds after Loprais.

In the overall truck standings, Mardeev leads Loprais by seven minutes and 55 seconds with Karginov three seconds back of the Czech. Eduard Nikolaev is fourth, eight minutes and seven seconds after finishing eighth on stage three. Martin Kolomy is 15 seconds behind Nikolaev after finishing sixth on stage three and being handed a 30-second penalty.

Siarhei Viazovich is sixth, 30 seconds behind Kolomy. De Rooy was also handed a 30-second penalty and is now seventh, a minute behind Viazovich. Truck leader entering the stage, Hans Stacey dropped to eighth overall after finishing ninth on the stage and behind handed a minute penalty. The Dutchman is now 12 minutes and 42 seconds back of Mardeev.

Stage four will take the competitors to Chile as the stage heads to Copiapo from Chilecito.

Three New Leaders After Stage Two of Dakar

Three of four classes feature new overall leaders after stage two of the Dakar Rally with Nasser Al-Attiyah getting redemption after being penalized after initially winning stage one on Sunday. 

The Qatari won stage two by eight minutes and 30 seconds over South African Giniel de Villiers and now holds the overall lead in the car class with a seven minute and 42-second advantage over de Villiers. Bernhard Ten Brinke finished third in stage two and is third overall, two minutes behind his fellow Toyota driver de Villiers. Krzysztof Holowczyc is ten minutes and 28 seconds behind his Mini teammate in fourth while Russian Vladimir Vasilyev rounds out the top five, 17 minutes and 23 seconds back. 

Erik Van Loon is 20 minutes and four seconds back in sixth position with Carlos Sainz 28 seconds behind the Dutchman driving for Peugeot. Saudi driver Yazeed Alrajhi is eighth, a minute and two seconds behind Sainz. Mitsubishi driver Carlos Sousa is ninth, a half minute behind Alrajhi with stage one winner Orlando Terranova 22 minutes and 23 seconds back of Al-Attiyah. 

A few big names had trouble on stage two. Stéphane Peterhansel finished 27th on the day and dropped to 22nd overall, over an hour and seven minutes back. Robby Gordon had a long repair for brake problems and he finished over four hours after Al-Attiyah. Nani Roma finished 22nd on stage two, just over an hour back but still finds himself nearly eight and a half hours back overall. 

Joan Barreda won stage two and holds the overall bike lead by four minutes and 37 seconds over fellow Honda rider Paulo Gonçalves. Ruben Faria is the top KTM rider in third, ten minutes and 37 seconds back overall. Jordi Viladoms is fourth overall, 11 minutes and 24 seconds back with Australian Toby Price eight seconds back in fifth. Defending Dakar winner Marc Coma is 12 minutes and 3 seconds back in sixth place. 

Notables from the bike class after stage two: Hélder Rodrigues is 13 minutes and 26 seconds behind Barreda in eighth. Alain Duclos trails by 22 minutes and 22 seconds in 12th and Olivier Pain is 17th, 28 minutes and 12 seconds back. Stage one winner Sam Sunderland finished nearly two and a half hours back on the day and dropped to 67th overall.

Rafał Sonik won stage two in the quad class and takes a two minute and 26-second lead over stage one winner and defending Dakar winner Ignacio Casale. Sergio Lafuente remains third, four and a half minutes behind Sonik. Sebastian Halpern jumps up to fourth overall, 13 minutes and 39 seconds back. Mohammed Abu-Issa remains fifth overall, trailing Sonik by 21 minutes and 18 seconds. 

The only class leader to remain from stage one is Hans Stacey in the truck class despite finishing fourth on the day. Eduard Nikolaev won stage two by 46 seconds over Belarusian driver Siarhei Viazovich with Airat Mardeev finishing another three seconds back in third. Stacey finished a minute and 27 seconds behind Nikolaev but holds the class lead by 20 seconds over the Russian. Martin Kolomy is a minute and one second back in third with Mardeev four seconds behind the Czech in fourth. Viazovich rounds out the top five, a minute and 25 seconds back. 

Stage three takes the competitors from San Juan to Chilecito. 

Penalty Alters First Stage of 2015 Dakar Rally

Just when it appeared Nasser Al-Attiyah had started his journey for his second Dakar Rally title in style in stage one, a penalty to the Qatari has dropped him from the top. The winner of the 2011 Dakar Rally was handed a two-minute penalty dropping him to seventh. His Mini teammate and Argentine Orlando Terranova gets the stage one victory with Robby Gordon finishing second, 42 seconds back. South African Giniel de Villiers was 50 seconds back in third with Pole Krzystof Holowczyc 54 seconds back in fourth. Another local Argentine, Emiliano Spataro finished stage one in a surprise fifth position, 56 seconds back of Terranove.

Dutchman Bernhard Ten Brinke finished sixth, a minute and 16 seconds back with Al-Attiyah a minute and 38 seconds behind his teammate. Carlos Sainz was the top Peugeot driver in eight, a minute and 44 seconds back. Erik Van Loon finished a minute and 58 seconds behind Terraova in ninth and Stéphane Peterhansel rounded out the top ten, two minutes and 13 seconds back.

Defending Dakar winner Nani Roma had a disastrous first stage and his title defense very well might be over. The Spaniard finished last, seven hours, 25 minutes and 45 seconds back after being towed to the finish by his assistance truck.

In the bike class, British KTM rider Sam Sunderland won stage one by five seconds over Honda rider Paulo Gonçalves. Defending Dakar winner Marc Coma finished in third, a minute and 12 seconds behind his fellow KTM rider Sunderland. Joan Barreda finished 29 seconds behind Coma in fourth position. Sherco TVS rider Alain Duclos rounded out the top five, two minutes and eight seconds back.

Other notable finishers from the bike class: Ruben Faria finished tenth, three minutes and two seconds behind Sunderland. Hélder Rodrigues finished twelfth, thirty seconds behind Faria. Olivier Pain came home in thirteenth, two seconds behind Rodrigues with Jordi Viladoms finishing fourteenth, 11 seconds behind Pain. Antonio Narino was the lone American to make the start in the bike class. Marino finished 153rd, 49 minutes and 30 seconds back of Sunderland.

Ignacio Casale started off his Dakar defense with a stage victory. The Chilean defeated Rafał Sonik by a minute and seven seconds with Sergio Lafuente making it a Yamaha 1-2-3, a minute and 23 seconds back. Uruguayan Mauro Almeida made it a Yamaha sweep of the top four as he finished two minutes and 41 seconds behind Casale. Mohammed Abu-Issa was the top non-Yamaha in fifth as his Honda came home three minutes and three seconds back.

Hans Stacey won in the truck class with Marcel Van Vilet making it a Dutch 1-2 after finishing 35 seconds back of Stacey's Iveco. Czechs Aleš Loprais and Martin Kolomy finished tied for third, each finishing 47 seconds back of Stacey. Martin Van Den Brink rounds out the top five, 58 seconds behind Stacey.

The top Kamaz was Ayrat Mardeev in sixth, a minute and 43 seconds back. Eduard Nikolaev finished four seconds behind Mardeev in seventh. Gérard de Rooy finished in ninth, a minute and 57 seconds back of Stacey with defending truck winner Andrey Karginov finishing 11th, three minutes and 16 seconds back.

Stage two will take the competitors from Villa Carlos Paz to San Juan.

2015 Dakar Rally Preview

Sunday marks the start of the 36th Dakar Rally. This will be the seventh consecutive year with the race being held in South America. Buenos Aires plays host to the start of the 13-stage event and will be the finish line in a fortnight. After three stages in Argentina, the rally will head to Chile for three stages before having one stage end in Bolivia in the middle of the event. Chile will host two more stages before ending with four stages in Argentina.

Nani Roma won the 2014 edition in the car class, becoming the second competitor to win in two different disciplines. Roma won the 2004 Dakar in the bike class. Stéphane Peterhansel finished runner-up to Roma in 2014 after losing the lead on the final stage. The Frenchman is looking for his twelfth Dakar victory having won five in cars and six on bikes. Roma looks to extend Mini's Dakar winning streak to four with Argentine Orlando Terranova and Pole Krzysztof Hołowczyc as his teammates and 2011 Dakar winner, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah also driving a Mini.

Peterhansel moves from Mini to Peugeot where he will be joined by 2010 Dakar winner Carlos Sainz and five-time Dakar bike class winner Cyril Despres. This will be Despres' first appearance in the car class. Peugeot has won four Dakars, the last coming in 1990 with Ari Vatanen behind the wheel.

Toyota will be led by 2009 Dakar winner, South African Giniel de Villiers while Robby Gordon is the lone Hummer in the field. Portuguese driver Carlos Sousa will lead Mitsubishi as the Japanese manufacture looks for their fourteenth Dakar victory and first since the race moved to South America.  Porsche factory driver Romain Dumas will compete for MD Rallye Sport while 1992 Indianapolis 500 rookie Phillipe Gache returns to the Dakar driving for SMG. Guerlian Chicherit will be driving for X-Raid while Argentine Federico Villagra driving for Ford. Tim and Tom Coronel will each be driving for Suzuki.

In the bike class, Marc Coma looks for his fifth Dakar victory as he will have stiff competition from riders looking for their first success in the Dakar. Fellow KTM riders Jordi Villadoms and Ruben Faria return. Villdoms finished runner-up last year and Faria finished runner-up in 2013. Honda rider Joan Barreda won five stages in 2014. Frenchman Olivier Pain finished third in 2014 as Pain is the top contender for Yamaha, who looks for their first Dakar triumph since Peternhansel won his last Dakar on a bike in 1998. KTM has won thirteen consecutive Dakars. Richard Sainct's victory in 2000 on a BMW was the last time KTM did not win the bike class.

Honda has four Dakar victories with their last coming in 1989 with Gillies Lalay. Along with Barreda, Hélder Rodrigues, Paulo Gonçalves and Laia Sanz are Honda's leading riders heading into the 2015 race. Spaniards and Frenchmen have won the last 11 Dakars in the bike class. Italian Fabrizio Meoni is the last non-Spaniard/Frenchman to win in the bike class when he won back-to-back Dakars in 2001 and 2002. Two Americans are competing in the bike class. Tony Gera will be riding a KTM while Antonio Narino will be on a Husqvarna.

Chilean Ignacio Casale looks for his second consecutive victory in the quad class. Pole Rafał Sonik finished runner-up last year and looks to become the second European rider to win in the quad class. Uruguayan Sergio Lafuente is another contender in the quad class. All three riders above are on Yamahas. Qatari Mohammed Abu-Issa and Chilean Victor Manuel Gallegos lead Honda as they look for their first victory in the quad class. All six editions for the quad class have been won by Yamaha. Casale is the lone winner of the quad class racing in 2014. Two-time winners Marcos Patronelli and Alejandro Patronelli and inaugural quad class winner Josef Macháček did not enter for 2015.

Andrey Karginov will return in the truck class driving a Kamaz. Last year, Karginov held off a late charge from 2012 truck class winner Gérard de Rooy for his first Dakar victory. The Dutchman de Rooy returns driving for Iveco. Kamaz will also have 2013 Dakar winner Eduard Nikolaev returning looking to get Kamaz their thirteenth Dakar victory. Czech driver Aleš Loprais is the lead contender for the German manufacture MAN. MAN's lone Dakar victory came with Dutchman Hans Stacey in 2007. Stacey will be driving for Iveco in 2015. Overall winner of the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans and former Formula One and IndyCar driver Jan Lammers will compete for the Dutch manufacture Ginaf.

The first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally will take the competitors from Buenos Aires to Villa Carlos Paz.