Carlos Sainz of Spain won the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally, chopping almost two minutes off the overall lead of Volkswagen teammate Nasser Al-Attiyah.
The defending champion, Sainz finished 1 minute, 56 seconds ahead of Al-Attiyah and 9:02 in front of Giniel de Villiers of South Africa on Tuesday. Al-Attiyah leads Sainz by 3:18 overall in what is a two-man contest heading to Sunday's finish in Buenos Aires.
The motorbikes are also a two-man race.
Marc Coma of Spain maintained his overall lead despite finishing in ninth place for the stage. Frenchman Cyril Despres stayed in second place overall, 8:14 behind Coma in the overall standings. Francisco Lopez Contardo of Chile was 23:33 behind in third.
American Jonah Street won the ninth stage, 3:38 in front of Frans Verhoeven of Belgium. Street trails Coma by a massive 3:44:44 overall.
