South Africa’s Giniel de Villiers Takes the LEAD at Dakar Rally

South African Giniel De Villiers has taken the overall lead for his Toyota team at the Dakar Rally in the Peruvian desert!

Despite nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb winning the second stage on Tuesday 8 Jan, the biggest gains were made by Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s De Villiers / Dirk von Zitzewitz (302) and Bernhard ten Brinke / Xavier Panseri (309).

De Villiers, the 2009 Dakar champion, leads team mate Ten Brinke by 28 seconds with Spaniard Nani Roma third in a Mini, 42 seconds off the pace after the 342km timed stage from Pisco to San Juan de Marcona, according to Reuters.

Qatar’s overnight leader Nasser Al-Attiyah, who is also driving a Toyota, opened the road for the rest and dropped back to eighth place, nearly three and a half minutes behind De Villiers.

Spain’s Joan Barreda Bort took the bike stage on his Honda to top the standings by 91 seconds from Matthias Walkner of Austria on a KTM.

The endurance rally is staged in South America since unfortunately being switched from Africa in 2009 for security reasons. The race ends in Lima on 17 Jan.

With a South African in the lead, don’t miss watching the Dakar Rally on DStv! You can stream all your favourite SuperSport channels on your smartphone or tablet via the DStv Now app. Sign up for DStv Now here »

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