France's Stephane Peterhansel, Dakar Rally winner in 2004, stormed clear to win the sixth stage of this year's race yesterday.
Peterhansel, driving a Mitsubishi, covered the 492-km special section over the tricky dunes between Smara in Morocco to Zouerat in Mauritania in four hours and 29 minutes.
The Frenchman finished 5:58 ahead of Japan's Hiroshi Masuoka, also in a Mitsubishi, with Bruno Saby 7:26 off the pace in his Volkswagen.
Saby leapt to the top of the overall standings, 40 seconds ahead of compatriot Luc Alphand and 7:19 clear of fifth-placed Peterhansel who began the stage in 16th overall.
Colin McRae, who started the day with a lead of nearly 5:30 minutes, crashed 80 km from the end of the special section and is out of the race.