Sports

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, January 5, 2009 Sainz wins second stage, takes lead at Dakar Rally Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Former world rally champion Carlos Sainz of Spain negotiated blinding dust and a collision with a motorcycle entrant to win the second stage of the Dakar Rally on Sunday for the overall race lead. Volkswagen driver Sainz beat Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel to claim his 10th Dakar stage win when he finished the dusty, 147-mile stage from Santa Rosa de la Pampa to Puerto Madryn in Argentina in 1 hour, 56 minutes, 14 seconds. "It was a very difficult stage with all the dust and the bikes. At times, we nearly had to stop," Sainz said. "I even hit a biker at one point. I hope he's going to be OK." Mitsubishi's Peterhansel was 1:14 seconds behind, while Sainz' Volkswagen teammate Giniel de Villiers of South Africa was third, 1:56 back. Sainz leads de Villiers by 2:19 after the first two stages and is 3:51 ahead of Peterhansel. "The start of the special was very quick, but as soon as we arrived in the off-track part, it was not very easy to navigate and we got a little bit lost," de Villiers said. "We must have lost a minute or two. Then in the last section ... it was very difficult to get past the bikers. But I tried to be cautious and avoid any mishaps. We didn't do too badly." Dutchman Frans Verhoeven won the motorbike stage in 2:14:48, just 41 seconds ahead of fellow KTM rider Cyril Despres of France. Frenchman David Fretigne was third on a Yamaha, 1:04 off the lead. Marc Coma of Spain, who won Saturday's opening stage, retained the overall lead despite finishing 17th Sunday. He holds a 13:47 lead over Verhoeven and is 16:51 ahead of Fretigne. "I had a problem with the radiator. I noticed after 104 kilometers that I had an oil leak." Coma said. "... I decided to stop at the first place I came across where there were people to see of I could find a solution. That was at the 108-kilometer mark. Someone from the crowd brought me an oilcan. I was able to put it to good use, but I had to stop regularly". Starting from Buenos Aires Friday, the 30th Dakar Rally -- and the first outside Africa -- features 177 cars, 217 motorcycles, 81 trucks and 25 quad bikes with drivers from 49 countries. After 14 stages and 5,950 miles, it will finish on Jan. 18 back in Buenos Aires. The 2008 race was canceled because of the possibility of terrorist attacks in Mauritania.

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