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Carlos Sainz closes on Dakar victory, Stephane Peterhansel crashes

Carlos Sainz has edged closer to his second Dakar Rally victory, but his Peugeot team is set to miss out on a one-two finish following a penultimate stage crash for Stephane Peterhansel

Peterhansel was 45 minutes behind Sainz and 20 clear of Toyota's Nasser Al-Attiyah heading into Friday's San Juan - Cordoba stage, which featured two timed sections of 124km and 244km split by an 382km liaison.

The Frenchman hit a tree early in the day's running, which resulted in steering damage on his Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi and left the 13-time Dakar champion with a thumb sprain.

Assisted by team-mate Cyril Despres, he lost almost an hour making it to the neutralised zone, where his car was finally attended to by an assistance crew.

The Frenchman ended the day having fallen to fourth in the general classification.

As he took profit from Peterhansel's misfortune, Al-Attiyah (pictured below) topped the day's timesheets, banking his fourth stage win of this year's Dakar.

However, Sainz's 46-minute lead over Al-Attiyah should, barring disaster, prove unassailable in the Saturday finale.

Overdrive's Lucio Alvarez and Al-Attiyah's Toyota Gazoo team-mate Giniel de Villiers were closest to the Qatari on the day, giving the Japanese marque its first 1-2-3 stage lockout in the 2018 event.

Another Toyota driver, Bernhard ten Brinke was again among the frontrunners in the stage, and was in the lead upon arriving at the neutralised zone.

Yet the Dutchman's hopes of a maiden Dakar podium - seemingly boosted by the Peterhansel accident - were then dashed abruptly.

He retired from the rally with a mechanical failure, his exit promoting de Villiers to third overall.

The 2018 Dakar will conclude on Saturday with a 120km loop near Cordoba.

Leading stage 13 times

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Nasser Al-Attiyah Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 5h02m22.s
2 Lucio Ezequiel Alvarez Overdrive Toyota Toyota 11m16.s
3 Giniel de Villiers Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 13m06.s
4 Jakub Przygonski X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 15m07.s
5 Mikko Hirvonen X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 19m24.s
6 Carlos Sainz Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 19m37.s
7 Boris Garafulic X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 22m41.s
8 Sebastian Halpern South Racing Toyota 27m36.s
9 Vaidotas Zala Agrorodeo Toyota 29m57.s
10 Cyril Despres Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 34m36.s

Overall standings after stage 13

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Carlos Sainz Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 47h46m30.s
2 Nasser Al-Attiyah Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 46m18.s
3 Giniel de Villiers Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 1h20m00.s
4 Stephane Peterhansel Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 1h28m08.s
5 Jakub Przygonski X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 2h46m32.s
6 Khalid Al-Qassimi PH-Sport Peugeot 4h20m40.s
7 Martin Prokop MP Sports Ford 7h21m55.s
8 Peter van Merksteijn Overdrive Toyota Toyota 7h42m41.s
9 Sebastian Halpern South Racing Toyota 9h09m04.s
10 Lucio Ezequiel Alvarez Overdrive Toyota Toyota 9h21m22.s

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