Orlando Terranova delighted the home crowd by becoming the first Argentinian driver to win a stage of the Dakar Rally.
The 33-year-old BMW driver - competing in his seventh Dakar Rally - came home two minutes ahead of the previous day's stage winner Nani Roma in a Mini and the latter's team-mate and defending champion Stephane Peterhansel was third, another 12 seconds adrift.
Peterhansel, seeking his 11th win after six in the motorbike section and four in the cars category, extended his overall lead to almost 53 minutes over South African Giniel de Villiers.
The 47-year-old Frenchman's chances of winning the title again grew immeasurably when closest rival, Qatar's 2011 champion Nasser al-Attiyah had to pull out of the race after suffering mechanical problems on the previous day's stage.
Defending motorcycle champion Cyril Despres now leads his section.
The Dakar rally is now held in South America because of security concerns in North Africa.
