Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Nasser Al-Attiyah and Matthieu Baumel bounced back strongly from day two delays to record their second stage victory on the third timed section through the dunes and across the parched trails between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona in Perú. The Qatari duly moved into third overall, 07:43 minutes off the outright lead, after winning the stage by 04:05 mins, despite changing two flat tyres.

"We have a good day," said Al Attiyah. "We win the stage with two flat tyres. We should have had a good lead, but I am quite happy. Matthieu did a good job and the car went very well. Yesterday, we know we lose a lot of time and it cost a lot. But, we showed today we have a good level and we will open the road tomorrow. But there will be a line, as the leading cars start in groups of four on SS4."

Toyota team-mates Giniel de Villiers and Bernhard Ten Brinke completed the special in sixth and seventh and now hold fifth and seventh in the general classification with their respective co-drivers Dirk von Zitzewitz and Michel Périn.

"Today’s stage was pretty much the same as yesterday," Giniel de Villiers reported. "Quite tricky, maybe not as hard as yesterday. The first part we caught Loeb and then we were right behind him and I was in his dust and had to drop back. We didn’t push at a crazy pace and was a little but cautious in the dunes in the second part, where you couldn’t really see. The car went well. There is still a long way to go. We will see what happens tomorrow."

Bernhard Ten Brinke said: "It was a good stage and we did it fairly well. It was not a nice stage to drive because I think the road book was not very nice. There were a lot of dangerous step-downs that were not in the road book. We decided not to push too hard and to drive quick without risks. There were some danger areas that were not marked. We had two punctures, one time in the middle of the stage and one time at the end. It was a stable (stage) time. I am happy."

Photos: Red Bull

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