Among the cars, US driver Robby Gordon claimed the stage between Antofagasta and Iquique in northern Chile, with a 606-kilometre timed special that was divided into two.Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel -- the man who has won the most editions of the Dakar Rally in history, with six wins on a motorbike and three in a car -- was second.
Peterhansel's Mini trailed Gordon's Hummer by 01:38, so the Frenchman retains the lead in the overall standings with a 05:58 lead over Gordon.
"We've been beaten fair and square. When the Hummers don't have any problems, they are a bit quicker than us. We're going to fight to hold on to the slender lead we have over him," Peterhansel said, in comments posted on the race website.
Gordon, in turn, promised to put up a fight all the way to Lima.
"We've got to make time. We're in a different position to him. He has to conserve his time and I've got to make it," he said.
It was not all good news for Hummer in Iquique, however. Qatar's Nasser al-Attiyah, who won last year's Dakar Rally in a Volkswagen, withdrew from the current edition of the race Tuesday, due to technical problems in his Hummer.
During the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally, Al-Attiyah had to stop three times to fix his alternator drive belt. In the 174th kilometre he decided to give up. He had managed to win two stages, but mechanical trouble in his Hummer had continually hampered his progress.
Among the motorbikes, Despres struck back at his arch-rival Coma.
On Monday, Coma had managed to drive an important wedge of close to 10 minutes in the overall standings between himself and Despres, but organizers eventually adjusted the times of the eighth stage to the benefit of several bikers who had got stuck in the mud including the Frenchman.
Coma had covered the same ground without trouble, and he was not pleased with the decision.
"It goes against the spirit of the race," Coma said.
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