Dakar 2018: Sainz took the lead from Peterhansel after a marathon stage 7.

Spanish pilot Carlos Sainz (Peugeot) won the seventh car stage of the 2018 Dakar, between La Paz and Uyuni (Bolivia), and took the lead in the race from Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (Peugeot), who lost almost two hours due to mechanical problems during the journey.

Sainz, who was second in the overall standings before the stage, more than 27 minutes behind Peterhansel, completed the 413 timed kilometers of the stage in 4 hours, 49 minutes, and 26 seconds.

Peterhansel stopped for about an hour and 45 minutes at kilometer 186 of the stage after reporting mechanical problems with his car, when he was leading the stage by having the best time at the first three checkpoints of the route.

Sainz achieved his second consecutive victory in this edition by completing the 498 km of timed special stage in 4 hours, 49 minutes, and 26 seconds, ahead of the Toyotas of South African Giniel de Villiers (12 minutes 05 seconds behind) and Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah (14 minutes and 19 seconds behind).

"I am happy with the stage and we will continue day by day trying to pass the many and very complicated stages that remain," said the Spaniard after crossing the finish line.

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After a rest day, where more than one pilot was able to stretch their legs, rest, and check their car, the 2018 Dakar is back in action on Saturday with Stage 7. This phase will mark the beginning of the Bolivia section, which will comprise three routes.

The first will start in La Paz and end in Uyuni. In total, there will be 425 kilometers of special stage and a 302-kilometer link. Unlike the Peruvian stages, Bolivia will not have dunes, but instead more dirt to increase speed.

Additionally, the drivers will no longer have to deal with intense sun, but rather with high altitude and cold. According to the Dakar website, the La Paz-Uyuni route will consist of 28% sand, 66% dirt, and 6% vegetation.

Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel leads the general classification in cars with a time of 16 hours, 25 minutes, and 2 seconds, and will try to maintain his 27-minute advantage over Spaniard Carlos Sainz. Meanwhile, in the motorcycle category, Argentine Kevin Benavides is in first place, but Belgian Adrien Van Beveren will try to reduce the 2-minute difference.

In addition, Chilean Ignacio Casale is in first place in quads. Meanwhile, in UTV, Brazilian Reinaldo Varela holds the lead. It is worth noting that Russian Eduard Nikolaev is at the top of the truck category.