A formidable duel between Nasser Al Attiyah and a Carlos Sainz out for revenge after his problems yesterday was expected. Such a battle did take place between the two VW drivers, at least up to the neutralised zone. Having set off behind the Qatari, Sainz put the pedal to the metal and soon found alongside the first competitor to start the day. After 224 km, Sainz had a lead of 1'24 and seemed to be heading for a 23rd stage victory on the Dakar. However, the afternoon heat of the La Rioja region proved to be ominous for the title holder. After 412 km, Sainz, blinded by the dust, ripped his right front wheel off after hitting a hole. As a result, he spent one hour repairing in the company of his team-mate Mark Miller. Yesterday, Sainz admitted he had lost the rally unless Al Attiyah was to suffer a setback. Today, the Spaniard lost his second place and will have to fight to stay on the podium. In the end, Nasser Al Attiyah had very little to worry about during this special, apart from the performance of Stephane Peterhansel. The runner-up of the last Dakar won his 3rd special stage or the rally with a lead of 1'13 over “Peter” and 4'52 over De Villiers. His lead in the general standings consequently takes a leap to almost 52 minutes over his new pursuer, De Villiers. Finally, in the truck race, Vladmir Chagin was again victorious after his success yesterday. The Russian Kamaz driver beat Spaniard Pep Vila by more than 11 minutes and his nearest pursuer in the general standings, Firdaus Kabirov, by 13'04. The Tsar is now well set for outright victory, with a lead of more than half an hour over Kabirov. Friday, 14th January > Leg 12: San Juan - Cordoba Now its the turn of the big boys Bikes-Quads-Cars / Road section, 123 km Special, 555 km - Trucks / Road section, 349 km Special, 266 km The final battle for the title will take place in broad day-light for the trucks, which will have a head start, exceptionally kicking off proceedings for this stage. For the rest, the length of this penultimate stage requires caution, especially over the first still sandy 100 kilometres. Since the gaps are sometimes tiny between the quickest drivers and riders, a lot can still change at this stage of the race.