Peterhansel leads Paris-Dakar race
CASTELLON, Spain -- Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel claimed the overall lead after the nine-kilometer third stage of the Paris-Dakar through the streets of Castellon.
The Mitsubishi driver finished third in the Spanish stage behind Nissan's South African Giniel De Villiers and Belgian Gregoire De Mevius in a BMW.
Peterhansel, who has won the race six times on a motorcycle, now leads Schlesser Ford driver Josep Maria Servia of Spain by five seconds.
Frenchman David Fretigne of Yamaha won his second straight motorcycle stage to extend his overall lead to 16 seconds.
In the truck class, Dutch veteran Johannes, driving a DAF, beat his son Geradus de Rooy on the stage but the younger de Rooy still leads the overall standings by seven seconds.
More than 400 teams have entered the 17-stage 11,163km rally that ends on 18 January in the Senegalese capital of Dakar.
