Rallying: Peterhansel sets pace in timed section

Stephane Peterhansel set the best four-wheel time in the second stage of the Dakar rally as the race crossed from France to Spain yesterday, when his fellow Frenchman Richard Sainct was fastest in the motorbike category.

Peterhansel, driving a Mitsubishi Pajero, clocked 38 minutes 48 seconds for the timed special section of the 26-mile stage from the French town of Narbonne to Castellon, Spain, finishing 17 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Giniel de Villiers, in a Nissan.

Peterhansel, who has won the event six times in the motorbike category, is seeking his first victory on four wheels.

Today's third section from Castellon to Valencia, Spain, is the rally's final European leg of the rally, which ends in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on 19 January.