Lost Coma quits Dakar after crash

Marc Coma had looked comfortable prior to Friday's debacle

Marc Coma, who was leading the motorcycle standings in the Dakar Rally, crashed during Friday's 13th stage and is out of the race.

The Spaniard was leading the overall motorcycle standings by a comfortable 52 minutes with just two stages left.

Coma lost his bearings 34km into the 458km stage from to Mali to Senegal but crashed out taking a parallel route.

Spain's Carlos Sainz won the car race with France's Stephane Peterhansel second to maintain the overall lead.

KTM rider Coma injured his head when crashing and had to be helicoptered to safety.

Rally organisers said: "Coma did not lose consciousness and was able to speak with team manager Jordi Arcarons, before being transported to Dakar to undergo further examinations."

The defending champion had gone into the day's stage with a huge lead over Frenchman Cyril Despres, the 2005 winner, with just one 225km timed stage remaining in Senegal on Saturday before a 16km special around the Lac Rose on Sunday.

Despres then went on to win the stage and now looks set to claim overall victory in Dakar.

Spain's Carlos Sainz, in a Volkswagen, won the car section while Stephane Peterhansel, of France, finished second and maintained the overall lead.

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Stage 13 Result

Cars
1. Carlos Sainz (Spain) Volkswagen 2:30:22
2. Stephane Peterhansel (France) Mitsubishi 2:30:48
3. Mark Miller (U.S.) Volkswagen 2:32:40
4. Carlos Sousa (Portugal) Volkswagen 2:35:25
5. Jean-Louis Schlesser (France) Schlesser-Ford 2:35:33
6. Luc Alphand (France) Mitsubishi 2:35:34
7. Sergey Shmakov (Russia) Buggy 2:36:03
8. Nani Roma (Spain) Mitsubishi 2:36:28
9. Miguel Barbosa (Portugal) Proto 2:39:32
10. Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) Volkswagen 2:40:59

Motorbikes:
1. Cyril Despres (France) KTM 3:00:56
2. Tom Classen (Australia) KTM 3:04:45
3. Chris Blais (USA) KTM 3:07:03
4. Thierry Bethys (France) Honda 3:12:39
5. Janis Vinters (Latvia) KTM 3:13:25
6. Michel Marchini (France) Yamaha 3:15:19
7. Jaroslav Katrinak (Slovakia) KTM 3:16:58
8. Helder Rodrigues (Portugal) Yamaha 3:17:50
9. Jean de Azevedo (Brazil) KTM 3:18:19
10. Einar Vinters (Latvia) KTM 3:18:54

Leading overall positions

Cars
1. Stephane Peterhansel (France) Mitsubishi 43h 13:22
2. Luc Alphand (FRA) Mitsubishi at 11:15min
3. Jean-Louis Schlesser (France) Schlesser-Ford 1h 38:47
4. Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (QAT) BMW 2h 09:45
5. Mark Miller (USA) Volkswagen 2h 17:47
6. Hiroshi Masuoka (Japan) Mitsubishi 2h 42:29
7. Carlos Sousa (POR) Volkswagen 5h 20:58
8. Robby Gordon (USA) Hummer 7h 13:18
9. Carlos Sainz (ESP) Volkswagen 7h 37:14
10. Stephane Henrard (BEL) Volkswagen 8h 12:28

Motorbikes:
1. Cyril Despres (France) KTM 48hr 41:00min
2. David Casteu France) KTM 35:28min
3. Chris Blais (USA) KTM 54:52
4. Pal Anders Ullevalseter (Norway) KTM 1hr 30:37
5. Helder Rodrigues (Portugal) Yamaha 2h 21:00
6. Janis Vinters (Latvia) KTM 2h 48:41
7. Michel Marchini (France) Yamaha 2h 58:10
8. Thierry Bethys (France) Honda 3h 12:19
9. Jaroslav Katrinak (Slovakia) KTM 3h 26:43
10. Henk Knuiman (Hol) Honda 4h 26:01.