Al-Attiyah of Qatar, Spain's Coma close in on Dakar titles

Posted January 15, 2015 10:00 pm

The Associated Press

ROSARIO, Argentina (AP) - Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar and Marc Coma of Spain are closing in on winning the Dakar Rally. Barring major mishaps they will secure the titles on Saturday when the two-week rally ends in the capital Buenos Aires.

Al-Attiyah, who is aiming for his second car Dakar title, leads the overall car standings after Friday's 12th stage. He is 35 minutes, 39 seconds in front of South African Ginel De Villiers, and 1:31:51 ahead of Krzysztof Holowczyc of Poland.

Orlando Terranova of Argentina won the 12th stage. Al-Attiyah was 1:37 back.

Defending champion Coma is chasing his fifth Dakar title on bikes. He leads Paulo Goncalves of Portugal by 17:49, and is 25:18 in front of Toby Price of Australia. Price won the 12th stage and Coma was 6:25 back.

Spectators watch as Mini driver Krzysztof Holowczyc, of Poland, and co-pilot Xavier Panseri of France, cross a river during the eleventh stage of the Dakar Rally 2015 between the cities of Salta and Termas de Rio Hondo, Argentina, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. The race returned to Argentina after passing through Bolivia and Chile and will finish on Jan. 17 in Buenos Aires. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) The Associated Press

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