Dakar Rally: Al-Attiya extends rally lead

Mini driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and co-pilot Matthieu Baumel of France driving their mini during the first stage of the 2015 Dakar Rally. Photo / AP

Former champion Nasser Al-Attiyah mounted a late charge to extend his Dakar Rally lead on Wednesday as the gruelling 9000km event climbed the Andes and then crossed Chile's Atacama desert.

Qatari driver Al-Attiyah, the 2011 champion, finished 2min 40sec ahead of Mini teammate Nani Roma, the defending champion, whose hopes had disappeared on a disastrous opening stage on Sunday when he lost eight hours.

In third place on Wednesday's fourth stage was South Africa's 2009 champion Giniel De Villiers behind the wheel of a Toyota.

De Villiers was 2:57 behind Al-Attiyah as he claimed a fourth successive stage podium finish and is now second in the overall title chase, more than eight minutes behind his Qatari rival. Saudi Arabia's Yazeed Alrajhi, also in a Toyota, was fourth on the 315km timed stage Wednesday to sit third overall, 23:33 behind Al-Attiyah.

"The man to beat is Giniel," said Al-Attiyah after giving Mini, who swept the podium in 2014, their fourth stage win out of four so far.

Spain's Joan Barreda rode to his second stage win of this year's motorcyle race, taking his Honda to victory ahead of defending champion Marc Coma on a KTM with Chile's Pablo Quintanilla, also on a KTM, in third.

In the overall motorcycle standings, Barreda now leads by 12min 49sec from Coma with Honda teammate Paulo Goncalves of Portugal back in third place, 20min 29sec off the lead.

Honda's Laia Sanz was eighth on Wednesday to be the best-placed female rider and moved into 12th overall.

The motorcycle stage was held as race organisers hunted for clues to the cause of the death of Michal Hernik.

The 39-year-old Polish rider's body was found 300 metres from the desert track with no apparent injury on Tuesday and no damage to his motorbike that would indicate an accident, according to race director Etienne Lavigne.

Lavigne added that there was no helmet on Hernik when the body was found.

Organisers sent a helicopter to look for Henrik after he failed to arrive at the finish line of Tuesday's stage between the Argentinian towns of Villa Carlos Paz and Chilecito. His satellite tracker had stopped sending signals.

His was the fifth death since the rally was moved to South America in 2009 over security concerns in the Sahara region and the 24th since the race was created in 1979.

-AAP