Al-Attiyah halves teammate's edge after claiming 7th stage

ANTOFAGASTA, Chile - Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah halved Volkswagen teammate Carlos Sainz's overall Dakar Rally lead on Sunday with a seventh stage win to pave the way for a potential repeat of last year's bad-tempered finale to the event.

Al-Attiyah finished the 273km special from Arica to Antofagasta in 2hr, 40min, 57sec, with the Spaniard 1min, 20sec behind in second place.

That left Sainz, a former double world rally champion, with a 1min, 22sec overall lead as the gruelling race enters its second and final week.

Twelve months ago, Sainz and Al-Attiyah had a spectacular fall-out when the Qatari, in a desperate, late push for victory, was accused of dangerous tactics by the Spaniard.

On Saturday's rest day, Sainz had inisted the duo had put the past behind them.

"It's like after a football match. All is forgotten," said Sainz. "We are two men who like to win.

"In rallying, I was used to being with the quickest drivers like Didier Auriol, Juha Kankkunen, Colin McRae, Sebastien Loeb. Of course, Nasser will try to win. It's an intense rivalry."

Al-Attiyah admitted he still has to attack if he is to clinch the title next weekend.

"We took 1min, 20sec back from Carlos and I am thrilled to be the winner of today's special stage," said the Qatari.

"From now on, I really have to attack. In order to avoid flat tires, we have to avoid sliding sideways too much. Last year, I had six flat tires. This year, I really focused on my driving to avoid flats and stay on course as much as possible."

After finishing second on Sunday, Sainz said: "It was really hard. But in the end, I am happy. There was a very tricky sand dune section. It was a good day, I am sure. But a tough one."

Chile's Francisco Lopez, riding an Aprilia, took the motorcycle honors on Sunday with France's defending champion, Cyril Despres, on a KTM in second.

Lopez came in after the 273km stage almost two and a half minutes clear of Despres with Spanish rider Marc Coma in third.

"It was not easy. There was a lot of dust in the beginning. I went a little faster afterwards but I lost my exhaust at mid-stage, more or less," said Lopez.

"So after that, I was afraid my engine would break. Fortunately, it was the shortest special stage since the beginning of the race; if it had not been, the engine would have been hit bad."

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 01/11/2011 page23)