Dakar day-to-day

Click here for our lowdown of the Dakar rally and its format

Stage 1 - Buenos Aires – Cordoba Racing kicked off with 380 entrants and 800,000 fans. A spectator standing in an unauthorised spot was tragically killed by a car driven by German Mirco Schultis. First place for cars went to Spaniard Nani Roma in his BMW, ahead of Carlos Sainz in his VW. David Casteu leads the bikers on his Sherco machine.  Stage 2 - Cordoba - La RiojaAt the end of stage two the top six leaderboard for cars contained five Volkswagens and one BMW. Qatari driver Nasser al-Attiyah wins and takes the lead in the standings. Frenchman David Casteu still leads the two-wheeled pack, with a second-place finish on stage two.  Stage 3 - La Rioja – FiambalaFrenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) stormed into the lead with a win on stage three, beating second-place Sainz by almost six minutes and opening up a 4m33 lead in the standings. Cyril Despres (KTM) moves into the lead for the bikes after his three main rivals suffered mechanical gremlins which cost significant time to fix.  Stage 4 - Fiambala – CopiapoAmerican Robby Gordon piloted his Hummer to his first victory in the 2010 race, beating Frenchman Peterhansel by just one second. Peterhansel retains the overall lead, with Sainz still 7m36 behind in second. Spaniard Marc Coma (KTM) wins in the bike category, starting his comeback from sixth place after losing 40 minutes in two days. Russian driver Vladimir Chagin celebrated his 40th birthday in style, taking home his fourth stage victory in a row.  Stage 5 - Copiapo – AntofagastaStéphane Peterhansel of BMW suffered a major setback - the rear axle of his BMW broke, losing nearly 2h15 and first place. American Mark Miller took his VW to victory in stage 5, ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in second. Chilean Franciso Lopez Contardo guided his Aprilia bike to victory ahead of Cyril Despres (KTM). Despres now commands a 37m37 lead in the overall standings.

Stage 6 - Antofagasta - IquiqueStéphane Peterhansel, BMW’s French driver, came back from 14th place to claim victory in stage six of the car competition. Carlos Sainz took second once again, and tied up a 15m24 lead in the overall standings. Marc Coma won his second bike heat, ahead of teammate and overall leader Cyril Despres. Cyril now stands 42m15 ahead of his closest rival in the championship.

Stage 7 - Iquique - AntofagastaQatari driver Nasser al-Attiyah (VW) claimed his second victory in the 2010 Dakar, finishing above rival Stéphane Peterhansel. Carlos Sainz places third, and retains his lead in the overall standings. Frenchman Cyril Despres claims also claims a second stage victory on his KTM motorcycle, and retains the lead in the overall race. Russian truck driver Vladimir Chagin (Kamaz) equaled Peterhansel’s record of six wins in seven stages.

Stage 8 - Antofagasta - CopiapoAnother win for BMW’s Stéphane Peterhansel as he takes home the trophy for the 54th time in his career – setting a new record. Sainz still leads the overall car event, with three VW cars topping the leaderboard. Francisco Lopez Contardo, from Chile, won the bike event and slides into third place on the leaderboard. Cyril Despres remains in the lead overall. Vladimir Chagin equaled Peterhansel’s 54th win in his truck, keeping a commanding lead overall.  Stage 9 - Copiapo - La SerenaNasser Al_Attiyah drove his VW to the lead in stage nine, ahead of ‘el Matador’ Carlos Sainz. There are still three VWs in the top three over all, with Sainz in overall lead by 5h39. Marc Coma wins another bike stage, just pipping overall leader Cyril Despres to the post. Russian Firdaus Kabirov won in the truck category, and leaderboard winner Vladimir Chagin from Russian came in second, securing his lead for yet another day.  Stage 10 - La Serena – SantiagoSpaniard Carlos Sainz, overall leader, finally won his first stage outright. He beat Stéphane Peterhansel who guided his BMW to a second place finish. Marc Coma rode his KTM bike to victory, but Cyril Despres remains out in front in the overall leaderboard. Chagin continues to dominate the truck class, taking his 55th win (a record) in the history of the Dakar race.

Stage 11 - Santiago - San JuanFrenchman and free-ride skiing champion Guerlain Chicherit (BMW) bagged his first victory of this year’s Dakar. Carlos Sainz is still in the lead overall, but his lead over second place team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah has been cut down to 4m28. Frans Verhoeven from Holland took the honours in the bike race, BMW’s first win since 2001. Despres is still in the lead overall.

Stage 12 - San Juan - San RafaelAnother win for Carlos Sainz (his second special stage win of 2010) takes the ex-WRC driver very close to an overall win. He has a commanding lead over team mate Nasser Al-Attiyah as the VW team continues its dominance. Francisco Lopez Contardo (Aprilia) wins the bike stage, but Cyril Despes still remains out in front in the overall standings. Chagin wins another stage in his truck, taking his overall wins in Dakar rallies to a record 56. Stage 13 - San Rafael - Santa RosaToday’s headlines were dominated by the battle for first place overall, with Carlos Sainz and Nasser Al-Attiyah fighting for the win. Al-Attiyah pipped Sainz in stage 13, meaning Sainz’s lead is cut to just 2m48. Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW) wins the stage. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) wins the bike stage, with Despres still out in front in the main leaderboard. He commands a lead of 1h04’12 over second place.  Stage 14 - Santa Rosa - Buenos AiresSpaniard Carlos Sainz wins the 2010 Dakar rally, finishing just 2m12 ahead of fellow VW driver Nasser Al-Attiyah. US driver Mark Miller came in third, completing an all-Volkswagen podium. BMW took fifth (Stéphane Peterhansel) and sixth (Guerlain Chicherit) place.  Cyril Despres, KTM’s French rider took victory in the bike event, with Norwegian rider and team mate Pal Anders Ullevalseter taking second place. Francisco 'Chaleco' Lopez Contardo from Chile came third on his Aprilia.  Russia’s Vladimir Chagin wins the truck category for the sixth time in his career. He drove his Kamaz truck to a record 56th stage victory. Team mate and countryman Firdaus Kabirov came in second, with the two leaders over eight hours ahead of the third place finisher, Dutchman Marcel Van Vliet. Argentine rider Marcos Patronelli rode his Yamaha quad to victory, beating his second-placed older brother Alejandro. Polish rider Rafal Sonik took third.

Click here for our lowdown of the Dakar rally and its format