With the 2014 Dakar Rally closing just its second day, things are not looking good for American teams. Robby Gordon finished the second day with 27th fastest time, putting him 54th overall in the Gordini after he encountered multiple fuel-related delays on Day 1. The second day of the Dakar Rally, was full of sand dunes, and three former winners now occupy the top three places on the overall leader board.

Autoweek.com reported that two-time defending champ and five-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel won the special stage from San Luis to San Rafael by 46 seconds. That moved him into the overall lead in his X Raid Mini. “It was a nice stage, really fast at the beginning because the average was more than 100 kph,” said Peterhansel. “It was a mix with a lot of fast tracks, then it was rios with a lot of rocks and the risk of getting a puncture. At the end there were also some very nice dunes, but the navigation was easy in the dunes because there were a lot of people everywhere.”

Two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz, had a much better day that he did on Monday in his buggy, finishing second overall through the sand dunes, and the Spaniard is only 28 seconds off the overall lead. Behind Sainz was Nasser Al-Attiyah, suffering three punctures on his Mini, he ended the day third overall. Having punctured three tires and no spares left, the Qatari had to drive with extreme care to the finish line.