Kleinschmidt wins Dakar stage marred by death
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-12 08:53

Germany's Jutta Kleinschmidt won the 400-km special section during the 11th stage from Atar to Kiffa in the Dakar Rally on Tuesday, though the race was marred by the second death of a competitor in successive days.

Italian motorcyclist Fabrizio Meoni takes part in the first stage of the Barcelona-Dakar rally in this December 31, 2004 file picture. [Reuters]

Italian motorcyclist Fabrizio Meoni, who was second in the motorcycle standings, died of a heart attack after a crash. Spanish motorcyclist Jose Manual Perez died on Monday from injuries he sustained in a crash last week.

Organisers said the motorcyclists were told of Meoni's death when they finished.

Kleinschmidt finished the stage one minute and four seconds ahead of Mitsubishi's French driver Luc Alphand.

Rally leader Stephane Peterhansel of France was third, 2:42 behind Volkswagen's Kleinschmidt. He heads the overall standings by almost 20 minutes from Alphand.

Kleinschmidt's victory ensured she held on to third overall, more than an hour behind Peterhansel.

Spain's Marc Coma won the motorcycle section, 1:12 ahead of France's Cyril Despres, who retained the overall lead. Coma moved into second place, 14:50 behind the Spaniard.

The race moves from Mauritania into Mali on Wednesday with a 819-km stage from Kiffa to Bamako.

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