Nasser Al-Attiyah improves Dakar Rally lead

The Mini driver was always part of the leading pack but had a strong finish in the final kilometres of dunes to claim his second stage win and increase his overall lead to eight minutes and 15 seconds. The 909km stage from Chilecito in Argentina to Copiapo in Chile was too much for stage one and three winner Orlando Terranova, who saw his dreams of an overall win shattered when he suffered a mechanical problem at the 72km mark. Al-Attiyah's team-mate Nani Roma is back in form after a terrible start to the Dakar. The Mini driver, who finished second in the stage could play a vital role in support of Al-Attiyah in upcoming stages. South African Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) placed third in Wednesday's stage but lost three more minutes to Al-Attiyah at the finish in Copiapo with a time of three hours 12 minutes and 15 seconds, however he remains the Qatari's main rival in the general classification. After finishing third in in stage three, Yazeed Alrajhi (Toyota) shone again on Wednesday, posting the fourth best time of the day (3:12:45) to ensure he remains on course to finish his first ever Dakar Rally on the podium.

In more sombre news, organisers revealed that Polish motorcycle rider Michal Hernik died on stage three on Tuesday.

While a statement from race officials indicated Hernik did not die in an accident, a cause of death has yet to be fully determined.

Hernik - a Dakar Rally debutant - was found at the 206-kilometre mark of Tuesday's 220km third stage between San Juan and Chilecito in Argentina.

Hernik, 39, had previously competed in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge last year and the 2013 Morocco Rally.