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Another day, another win on Toyo Tires. Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver, Lucas Cruz took the victory only after an epic battle with both the X-Raid Mini of Peterhansel and the SMG buggy of Chicherit. Leading for most of the race, the hard charging Frenchman, Chicherit, had his lead broken only in the final section. The winning margin of just 36 seconds after three hours and 28 minutes of racing, indicates how close the result really was.

In the overall standings, Al-Attiyah now has two wins in the 2013 Dakar and lies just 5 minutes 16 seconds behind overall leader Peterhansel whose 10 previous Dakar victories and race proven car make him a formidable opponent.

It is genuinely incredible that the newly developed buggies of team mates Al-Attiyah and Sainz have been on the pace immediately and that both have won stages.

However, more disappointment was in store for Sainz who suffered electrical problems in yesterdays Stage 3. At 3.00AM this morning, the ASO announced that they were cancelling their decision to award Sainz the win on stage 2 of the race. This decision was based on the analysis by GPS supplier ERTF who concluded that although the main GPS was faulty, a secondary system was working. While this is a blow to Sainz and mean it is no longer four wins out of four for Toyo Tires, Sainz had more to worry about on today's stage.

The stage was an epic 429km including vertiginous drops in the dunes and the ultra fine sand known as Fesh Fesh. The stage proved a challenge for the Toyo Tires teams taking its toll and giving some a mountain to climb tomorrow.

Sainz finished the stage some 2 hours 36 minutes behind his team mate Al-Attiyah in 40th place. The reason for his stop at km147 is not yet clear and with another 288km of liaison to reach the bivouac, it could be some time before an explanation is available. He now sits in 24th position overall, 3 hours, 18 minutes behind Peterhansel who he led from just two days ago. Racing can be cruel as Sainz knows only too well after crashing out of near certain victory in the 2009 Dakar.

Robby Gordon had his troubles too as he rolled his Hummer in spectacular style early on in the race with the car landing on its roof. Both driver and navigator are reported to be unharmed but having to dig the car out, right it and attend to damage sustained has cost them. Currently still on the course and 5 hours behind the lead, Gordon will tell his side of the  story when he reaches the bivouac.

Similarly, luck has not smiled on Eric Vigouroux and co-pilot Jean Brucy. Having had issues every day of the rally, today would be no exception. Vigouroux has just completed the stage in 32nd place 2 hours and 21 minutes behind the lead. He now occupies 38th place overall more than five hours adrift.

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