Sainz takes second Dakar stage win

The Spaniard, however, was followed closely by his main rival so far, Nasser Al-Attiyah, who finished just six seconds behind the former world rally champion.

Sainz, winner of the second stage last Sunday with his Volkswagen Touareg, completed today's 459-km special from Jacobacci to Neuquen in 3h:42.57, just six seconds ahead of BMW driver Al-Attiyah.

The Spaniard and the Qatari have won two stages each so far, and the Volkswagen drivers is three minutes and 46 seconds ahead in the overall standings.

Sainz could have won by a bigger margin, but he was slowed down by a slow puncture late in the stage.

"We began going pretty fast, and then we reached Nasser and he realised we were behind and start to attack a lot and we continued both at the very good pace," said Sainz at the end of the day.

"Then I overtook him outside the track but I started to lose pressure in one of the tyres and I had to stop to inflate it because it was a slow puncture.

"It kept losing pressure until the end of the stage and I think I was left with just half a kilo of pressure and we won by five or six seconds. It's a shame."

Al-Attiyah, meanwhile, admitted he was not disappointed to lose out to Sainz in today's stage.

"Tomorrow he will start in front of us, and with the dunes it is much better for me," the Qatari added.

Mitsubishi's Luc Alphand took third place today, over a minute behind Sainz, with Mark Miller in fourth in a Volkswagen and Joan Roma in fifth in the second Mitsubishi.

Volkswagen's Giniel de Villiers kept third place in the standings despite crossing the finish line in sixth today.

Reigning champion Stephane Peterhansel finished down in eighth and lost nearly seven minutes to Sainz.

Stage 4 results:

Pos  Driver           Car           Time
 1.  Sainz            Volkswagen    3h42:57
 2.  Al Attiyah       BMW            +  0:6
 3.  Alphand          Mitsubishi     + 2:24
 4.  Miller           Volkswagen     + 4:20
 5.  Roma             Mitsubishi     + 5:38
 6.  De Villiers      Volkswagen     + 5:48
 7.  Terranova        BMW            + 6:49
 8.  Peterhansel      Mitsubishi     + 6:54
 9.  Chicherit        BMW            + 10:31
10.  Gordon           Hummer         + 12:13

Overall standings after stage 4:

Pos  Driver          Car            Time
 1.  Sainz           Volkswagen     12h47:45
 2.  Al Attiyah      BMW             +  3:46
 3.  De Villiers     Volkswagen      + 11:33
 4.  Peterhansel     Mitsubishi      + 15:41
 5.  Roma            Mitsubishi      + 20:00
 6.  Miller          Volkswagen      + 20:05
 7.  Terranova       BMW             + 24:30
 8.  Alphand         Mitsubishi      + 41:11
 9.  Gordon          Hummer          + 46:45
10.  Holowczyc       Nissan          + 47:39