paris-dakar rally
Hiroshi Masuoka, of Japan, gained overall leadership of the Paris-Dakar Rally yesterday with a tenth-stage victory in his Mitsubishi.
Jose Maria Servia, of Spain, lost first place after his Schlesser Buggy became stuck in a sand dune, while Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser, Servia's team leader, dropped nine minutes changing a wheel on a day marked by several breakdowns and mishaps.
Richard Sainct, of France, winner of the motorcycle category for the last two years and overall leader after nine stages, dropped out of contention after the engine of his KTM failed after 335km of the 435km stage between Ghallaouiya and Atar in Mauritania.
Masuoka now leads by more than 45 minutes from Jutta Kleinschmidt, with Schlesser, twice-winner of the race, third.
Alfie Cox, of South Africa, won the motorcycling section as KTMs continued to dominate by filling the first five places. He finished 59 seconds in front of Spain's Jordi Arcarons and 1min 54sec ahead of Italian Fabrizio Meoni, who took over the overall lead.
Meanwhile, Spanish rider Joan Roma crashed early on and suffered leg and knee injuries, forcing his retirement, rally officials said.
Roma, riding a BMW, was flown to hospital in Atar after being picked up by a helicopter. He had been third overall. Details:
Cars: 1, H Masuoka (Japan) Mitsubishi five hrs 10min 24sec; 2, J-L Schlesser (France) Schlesser 5:20.02; 3, J Kleinschmidt (Germany) Mitsubishi 5:25.35; 4, C Sousa (Portugal) Mitsubishi 5:27.16; 5, S Henrard (Belgium) Volkswagen 6:02.53.
Motorcycles: 1, A Cox (South Africa) KTM 5:02.04; 2, J Arcarons (Spain) KTM 5:03.03; 3, F Meoni (Italy) KTM 5:03.58; 4, K Tianen (Finland) KTM 5:08.33; 5, I E Pujol (Spain) KTM 5:10.39.
Overall standings. Cars: 1, Masuoka 28:56.16; 2, Kleinschmidt 29:41.38; 3, Schlesser 29:51.16; 4, Sousa 29:54.45; 5, J M Servia (Spain) Schlesser 30:59.41.
Motorcycles: 1, Meoni 28:26.17; 2, Arcarons 28:46.30; 3, C de Gavardo (Chile) KTM 29:06.43; 4, Pujol 29:22.29; 5, Cox 29:46.23.
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