Daniel Sanders has extended his overall lead in the Dakar Rally after the Australian produced another solid ride for a battling fourth place in the mammoth 459-km stage seven over the Saudi dunes.
The defending motorcycle champion recovered from an early error in the gruelling stretch between Riyadh to Wadi ad-Dawasir to extend his advantage over American two-time champion Ricky Brabec to four minutes, 25 seconds in the provisional standings.
Argentina's Luciano Benavides won Sunday's bike stage to sit third overall, with Spanish KTM team-mate Edgar Canet second and Frenchman Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) third.
Honda's Brabec could only finish 10th to Red Bull KTM rider Sanders' fourth place.
"I made one mistake at the start and lost two or three minutes, unfortunately," said 31-year-old world champ Sanders.
"It was hard to catch the guys in front because there was such a fast navigation track and it was really hard to make a difference.
"After the second refuel, the guys pulled over and waited for me, calculating the bonus. I just put the hammer down and checked away from them to make sure they didn't get any bonus."
The Victorian added: "I feel good today. I'm ready for the big day tomorrow."
Mattias Ekstrom won Sunday's car category stage after Toyota's Henk Lategan, who had looked poised for a dominant victory, was forced to stop for 10 minutes at the 428km mark, handing the Swede victory.
Monday's stage eight will be even longer for riders and drivers, who will need to negotiate deep canyons and more dunes on the 481-km stretch around Wadi Ad Dawasir.
