Three-time Dakar winner Cyril Despres (KTM/MICHELIN) posted the best time on the 2012 event's first predominantly sandy stage. Cyril Despres finished 1m41s clear of Marc Coma to extend his lead over the Spaniard to 9m51s.

The vast deserted plains and endless straights of Argentina's 'Rutas' that have been our backdrop since Sunday's start in Mar del Plata are already a thing of the past. Today's run from Chilecito to Fiambala saw competitors sample twistier roads along the Famatina Valley on their way to the start of today's bike stage in Cerro Negro.

Today's competitive route was completely different for the bikes and cars, with the stage for the two-wheel competitors taking the form of a 265km loop to the east of Fiambala. In the end, however, it was shortened by 185km because of extensive flooding.

The first predominantly sandy stage of the 2012 rally saw victory go to Cyril Despres who bounced back after the win of his rival, Marc Coma, on Wednesday to maintain his safety margin at around the 10-minute mark.

Frans Verhoeven (Sherco/MICHELIN), who posted yesterday's second best time, was reported to have stopped just 16km after the start. The Dutchman finally backtracked to meet up with his service crew at the start of the stage, while David Casteu (Yamaha/MICHELIN) also stopped for several minutes at Km133.

Third place is now the property of Helder Rodrigues, ahead of Chile's Chaleco Lopez (49 minutes adrift) who will reach his favourite hunting ground tomorrow when the rally reaches the Copiapo region in his home country.

crossing the Andes at Paso San Francisco, at an altitude of 4,748 metres, in the midst of a landscape dominated by Chilean volcanoes which rise to more than 6,000 metres. The bike stage will start on Chilean side of the frontier. After 120km of dirt and stones, the bikers will come across an initial 43km string of dunes, then a second 37km stretch before arriving at the overnight halt in Copiapo.

Cyril Despres (KTM/MICHELIN): "I am pleased with my tyre choice today. I opted for standard Michelin Desert tyres which gave me fantastic grip and traction over today's extremely twisty and narrow mountain tracks."

Leg 5 - positions:

Provisional overall positions:

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