Al-Attiyah maintains overall lead after Dakar Rally eighth stage

Mini driver Nasser Al-Attiyah maintained his Dakar Rally overall lead after ranking fourth in Sunday' s eighth stage, while Saudi Arabia's Dakar Rally rookie Yazeed Al-Rajhi claimed his maiden stage win.

Sunday's 808 kilometre run, with 784km timed, starts from Bolivia's salt flats in Uyuni and ends in the vertiginous dunes of the Chilean Pacific coastal city of Iquique.

The Toyota driver Al-Rajhi continued the sound form in his debut at Dakar Rally as he finished first in Sunday' s route with three hours, 26 minutes and 49 seconds.

Saturday's stage winner Orlando Terranova ranked second in his Mini, over one minute and 12 seconds behind, while Al-Attiyah was placed third with a further two minutes and 36 seconds back.

However, the 2011 Dakar winner Al-Attiyah, who has won three stage wins so far in this year, gained a few seconds on his closest pursuer in overall standings, South Africa's Giniel de Villiers (Toyota), who finished fourth in the eighth stage.

Al-Attiyah currently has an almost eight-and-a-half minute lead over de Villiers in the overall standings. Al-Rajhi remains in contention for the drivers' crown in third, 18 minutes and 40 seconds behind.

The two day car marathon stage in the weekend was not easy for the competitors.

"Driving in Bolivia was a treat. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the altitude. Yesterday's stage was very tough. I vomited three times and (co-driver) Matthieu (Baumel) asked me to stop," Al-Attiyah said.

"But no, I didn't want to lose any time. I wasn't able to eat anything yesterday, I only had a soup and a cup of green tea. I also had oxygen for thirty minutes before going to sleep. Fortunately, I felt much better today.

"I'm happy to stay in the lead. We lost a wheel at the end of the first part of the special and lost a few minutes changing it. However, I attacked in the second half, overtook four cars and made up the lost time." Endi