RIYADH: Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah finished third in the second stage of the Dakar Rally currently being held in Saudi Arabia, which was won by Saudi driver Yazeed Al Rajhi.
Toyota driver, Al Rajhi finished first in the second stage achieving a time of 10:56:54 hours, despite being given a two-minute penalty for speeding.
Henk Lategan, a Toyota driver, came in second place with a difference of 4:16 minutes, while Qatari five-time title holder Nasser Al Attiyah came in third place, driving a Dacia Sandrider with a difference of 6:29 minutes, also given a four-minute penalty for speeding.
Al Rajhi dominated the 967-kilometer stage, which took place over two days, and managed to lead until the 231st kilometer, where Al Attiyah overtook him. However, the Qatari driver later finished in third place.
Participants had to camp in the desert between the Sunday and Monday sections of the stage, without receiving any technical assistance.
Lategan leads the overall standings with a 4:45-minute lead over second-place Al Rajhi and a 11:14-minute lead over third-place Al Attiyah.
In the motorcycle category, Australian Daniel Sanders of KTM continued his dominance in the competition by winning the second stage with a 6:45-minute lead over French rider Adrien Van Beveren of Honda, who finished second. Honda's Skyler Howes from the US took third place, 7:37 minutes behind.
