Peterhansel leads in 2nd leg of Dakar Rally car race

France's Stephane Peterhansel drive his Mini during the second stage of the Dakar Rally 2014 from San Luis to San Rafael, January 6, 2014.  [Photo/Agencies]

BUENOS AIRES - France's 11-time champion Stephane Peterhansel Monday won the second leg of the 2014 Dakar Rally car race for team Mini, becoming the leader of the overall ranking.

Peterhansel, 11-time rally champion (6 times on a motorcycle and 5 times in a car), won the second leg between the Argentine cities of San Luis and San Rafael, followed by Spain's Carlos Sainz (SMG), who was 28 seconds behind, and Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah (Mini), who trailed by 4 minutes and 10 seconds.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old British driver Sam Sunderland (Honda) for the first time won the second leg of the motorcycle race, though Spain's Joan Barreda (Honda) continues to lead the ranking with a time that is 2 minutes and 3 seconds ahead of Chile's Francisco "Chaleco" Lopez (KTM), who finished second on Monday.

In the quad race, two-time champion and winner of 15 stages Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha) of Argentina won the second leg, followed by his fellow countryman Martin Boneto (Honda), behind by 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

The second leg of the rally car race covered 365 km of linking route, plus 433 km of special route for a total of 798 km.