McRae hits back with debut victory
AYOUN EL ATROUS, Mauritania -- Briton Colin McRae's recent problems were forgotten on Wednesday with a debut win on the 13th stage of the Dakar Rally.
The 1995 world rally champion, forced to spend two nights in the desert when his Nissan packed up on the ninth stage, covered the 478km from Bamako to Ayoun El Atrous in five hours 52 minutes 58seconds.
McRae's team-mate, South African Giniel De Villiers, was second, over seven minutes behind, with another Nissan driver, Finn Ari Vatanen, third.
France's Stephane Peterhansel leads Hiroshi Masuoka of Japan by more than an hour in the overall standings.
McRae only escaped being thrown out of the rally when he met the deadline for completing last Thursday's stage by less than three hours - rejoining the rally only on Sunday afternoon.
French Yamaha rider David Fretigne won the latest motorbike section clocking six hours 10 minutes 25 seconds.
He finished three minutes 41 seconds ahead of defending champion Richard Sainct of KTM with race leader Nani Roma of Spain at 6:22.
Roma leads three-time winner Sainct by seven minutes 25 seconds overall, with France's Cyril Despres moving ahead of fellow KTM rider Alfie Cox of South Africa in third spot.
With four stages remaining, Thursday's race stays in Mauritania with a 547km special between Ayoun El Atrous and Tidjikja.
