Gordon jumps to seventh after fifth stage at Dakar

South African Giniel de Villiers scored his first stage win of the 2009 Dakar Rally and moved into second place overall after Stage 5 on Wednesday.

In the longest special of the rally so far -- 506 kilometers from Neuquen to San Rafael in Chile -- de Villiers mastered the sand dunes to reach the finish line in 5 hours, 47 minutes.

Gordon

Sprint Cup driver Robby Gordon finished third and moved to seventh overall, 41 minutes, 48 seconds behind Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who led the rally entering Stage 5, lost more than 15 minutes after steering problems hampered his driving. He dropped to third place overall.

Al-Attiyah, who won Stages 1 and 3, now leads de Villiers by 2 minutes, 24 seconds in the overall standings.

Yvan Muller, competing in a single-seater SMG buggy, was forced out of the event after his car caught fire following a collision with the truck of Elisabete Jacinto. No one was injured.

After 14 stages covering the 9,574-kilometer (5,950-mile) circuit, the race will finish on Jan. 18 in Buenos Aires.

Thursday's route is a 395-kilometer drive from San Rafael to Mendoza.

The Dakar Rally is being broadcast on Versus, with daily updates on RobbyGordon.com.

• Missing French motorcyclist Pascal Terry has been found dead, race organizers said on Wednesday. A statement on the race's official Web site said the announcement of Terry's death was made with "great sadness."

It is the first fatality on this year's Dakar Rally, which has relocated to Argentina and Chile for its 31st edition. Terry, 49, had gone missing during the second stage on Sunday between Santa Rosa and Puerto Madrid.

He was finally located in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the drivers and motorbikes prepared for the fifth leg from Neuquen to San Rafael.

Terry, who was competing in the grueling rally for the first time, was found in dense vegetation, 15 meters from his bike. He had taken his helmet off and had sought shade, but had food and water with him.

Local police are to carry out an investigation into the cause of his death.

Related:
• Gordon remains in ninth after Stage 4 of Dakar

Wire services contributed to this report.