Dakar: Terranova rapid, but Al-Attiyah near to clinching win

Nasser Al-Attiyah stands on the brink of his second Dakar Rally victory after a calm drive through the penultimate stage on Friday, where his X-raid Mini teammate Orlando Terranova was quickest.

Fourth fastest on the 185-mile run from Termas de Rio Hondo to Rosario was sufficient for Al-Attiyah, and with second-placed Giniel de Villiers also taking it easy, the WRC2 champion's outright lead grew to 35 minutes.

X-raid's tally is now up to four Minis in the top five, as Vladimir Vasilyev's pace on stage 12 took him past Christian Lavieille's Toyota into fifth overall, behind teammates Krzysztof Holowczyc and Erik van Loon. Vasilyev diced with Terranova for the stage win before falling just 30 seconds short.

Terranova has now taken four stage victories on this year's event, but a top-15 overall finish is the best he can hope for following his opening-week accident.

Barring a major upset on Saturday's concluding 108-mile dash to the finish in Buenos Aires, Peugeot will have to settle for 11th on its return to the Dakar.

Stephane Peterhansel reduced the gap to 10th-placed Ronan Chabot's SMG Buggy on Friday, but is still 37 minutes adrift.

Originally on Autosport.com