Veteran Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the Dakar Rally for the third time on Friday, finishing with a comfortable winning margin in Saudi Arabia.
The 57-year-old led from the third stage and crossed the finish line 6 min 21 sec ahead of nearest challenger and reigning champion Nasser al-Attiyah of Qatar, who had managed to cut Sainz's lead to just 24 seconds on Tuesday but fell back after navigation blunders.
Stephane Peterhansel was third at 9 min 58 sec behind in his Mini.
Both the Frenchman and Sainz won four stages each in the marathon 12-day, 7,800-kilometer race.
