Dakar 2015: Terranova takes stage win as Al-Attiyah still leads after Stage 7

Orlando Terranova claimed his third stage win at the 2015 edition of the Dakar, having already on the first and third stages of the event. Driving a Mini, Terranova completed the seventh stage of the Dakar that runs from Iquique to Uyuni in 3hr 31min 18sec, finishng over two minutes ahead of Yazeed Al-Rajhi. Third place in the stage also went to a Toyota with Ten Brinke taking the spot.

Third stage win for Orlando Terranova at the 2015 edition of the Dakar

And even though Nasser Al-Attiyah finished outside the top five, the Qatar Rally Team driver continues to hold onto the top spot overall in the car category of the event. Al-Attiyah, however, has seen his lead eaten into by Giniel de Villiers, his nearest rival. The South African now trails Al-Attiyah by a mere 8min 14sec. Third in the car class of the event is Al Rajhi.

The truck class of the event proved to be unfortunate for Eduard Nikolaev. While the Kamaz driver managed to take three back to back stage wins, the seventh stage was riddled with problems for him. And this meant that he had to reliquish the overall lead in the truck class to his team-mate Airat Mardeev. Second in the overall standings is Andrey Karginov also in a Kamaz. The stage win, however, went to Gerard Loprais in a Man.

Paulo Goncalves took his first stage win of the 2015 Dakar, as team-mate Barreda Bort suffered the misfortune of a broken handlebar following a fall

On two wheels, it was a narrow miss for Mathias Walkner, who could well have won the seventh stage if not for Paulo Goncalves charging through on his Honda. It was the Portugeuse rider's first stage win of the 2015 Dakar, while Walkner had to settle for third place behind Marc Coma. And the second place finish in the stage helped Coma make some rather valuable inroads into the lead that HRC's Joan Barreda Bort has over him. With Bort riding the stage with a broken handlebar, Coma, the defending champion, has managed to cut down on the lead to a mere 6min 28sec.

The quad category still sees Rafal Sonik lead from Ignacio Casale and Sergio Lafuente.

Photo credit: Shakedown Team