Ford take impressive 1-2 after thrilling stage finish at Dakar Rally

After an overnight stay in the tents, the drivers got back behind the wheel to start part two of the marathon stage at the Dakar Rally. 

Henk Lategan was allowed to open the day, with Nasser Al-Attiyah and Marek Goczal following behind. But as is often the case, that is not an advantage - especially since the cars could not benefit from the tracks of the motorcycles this stage, as they were driving a different route.

The 356-kilometre special was driven at a fast pace. By doing so, the differences kept increasing slightly as the stage progressed, with Mitch Guthrie being the stable factor at the front. 

From the first waypoint onward, the American, who had already won stage three, was the fastest and built up his lead even further. Besides Guthrie, it was Lucas Moraes, Nani Roma and Guy Botterill who seemed to be fighting for stage victory as it progressed. 

Later in the stage, drivers such as Denis Krotov, Martin Prokop and Simon Vitse were also in there for a podium finish or even the win.

Roma was ultimately the fastest man, with a lead of just four seconds over Guthrie. But the Spaniard received a one-minute and 10-second penalty, allowing Guthrie to take the win.

Prokop finished in third place, with Moraes and Krotov still in the top five. Big names like Lategan and Al-Attiyah finished outside the top 10.

Overall gaps decrease

In the overall standings, not much has changed in terms of positions. 

Lategan, Al-Attiyah and Mattias Ekström still occupy the first three positions, with Roma and Carlos Sainz behind them. 

Al-Attiyah seemed to have almost three minutes on Lategan, but after the stage, he received a two-minute penalty, meaning he still has to concede more than three minutes in the overall standings.

The differences between them within the top five have narrowed, however. 

Where the difference between the number one and five after Wednesday's stage was still almost 17 minutes, it has now shrunk to just over eight minutes.