Motorsport: Sainz retains Dakar Rally lead

Former world rally champion Carlos Sainz won the second stage of the 28th Dakar Rally to keep the lead in the 15-day race.The Spaniard, who also won the opening stage, completed the 115km run from Portimao, southern Portugal, to Malaga in 1h 24m 28s.

He beat French Mitsubishi driver Luc Alphand by 25s and Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Alliyah of BMW by 34s.

The Dakar race takes more than 1400 drivers in 508 teams from more than 40 nations on a 9043km route from Lisbon to Dakar, Senegal.

The dangerous race is subject to several perils including land mines, bandits and sandstorms. Last year, only half the entries finished. This year racers will have to depend on their maps, their co-drivers and their intuition. Organisers have restricted use of GPS navigation systems to make the race more exciting and push drivers into relying on their skills.