PISCO, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Peugeot's French driver Cyril Despres took the overall lead in the Dakar Rally on Sunday by winning the second stage of the off-road endurance event in southern Peru.
Despres finished the 267km stage around the port city of Pisco in two hours 56 minutes 51 seconds, some 48 seconds ahead of his teammate and countryman Stephane Peterhansel.
"That was a great day. It's the first time that our car has been in these conditions," Despres said. "Big, easy to climb dunes as well as very soft plateaus. We saw others stuck in the sand but we avoided that."
Overnight leader Nasser Al-Attiyah finished Sunday's stage almost 15 minutes off the pace in his Toyota after co-driver Matthieu Baumel fell ill.
In the motorcycle category, Spain's Joan Barreda took the overall lead with his 20th Dakar stage win.
Barreda clocked 2:56:44 on his Honda, 2:54 ahead of Yamaha rider Adrien Van Beveren of France.
