Alphand stretches lead after third day

Moreeb Hill: If Luc Alphand needs any reminding that the battle for victory in the UAE Desert Challenge is far from over after three days, he can turn to Mitsubishi teammate Stephane Peterhansel.

On another blazing hot day in the Empty Quarter, Alphand extended his overall lead from 14 to 22 minutes, despite being outpaced by four minutes on the FedEx Special Stage 3 by Peterhansel, the defending champion.

Having built such a healthy advantage, the former world champion downhill skier cannot afford to relax and start thinking of how another win will look on his already enormously impressive CV.

The Desert Challenge is a beauty with the ability to transform itself into a beast, as Peterhansel has discovered on more than one occasion. Two years ago, pursuing a third successive cars victory in the event, his hopes of a hat-trick were buried in the sands of the Rub Al Khali on the first day.

Fast forward to this year's first leg on Monday, and Peterhansel's crash in the mighty dunes that guard the Desert Challenge trail removed the front end of his car and broke the steering.

While he would certainly not wish a similar fate on his fellow-Frenchman and teammate, the fact remains that there are still 665kms of competitive stages and demanding desert driving to be negotiated before Monsieur Alphand can celebrate in Dubai on Friday afternoon.

Peterhansel's charge on Day III allowed him to climb three places and relegate five-times Desert Challenge winner, Jean-Louis Schlesser, to third place in his buggy.

The major casualty on the day was former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, who had to retire his Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 prototype from the stage after its gearbox broke, sending him plummeting from contention for a podium place.

Portugal's Carlos Sousa in another VW is in fourth position ahead of a trio of BMWs driven by Middle East rally champion Nasser Al Attiyah of Qatar, Germany's Jutta Kleinschmidt and Spain's Jose-Luis Monterde.

The UAE's Yahya Alhelei bounced back from problems on the previous day to take his Liberty Team Chevrolet Colorado into the top 10.

In the battle of the bikes, American rider Christopher Blais outpaced the best in the world on the day to win his first special stage in the FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship.

Overall, Spain's Marc Coma extended his lead to just over seven minutes from Frenchman Cyril Despres, while David Casteu kept his grip on fifth place to leave himself just two days of solid concentration and no disasters away from the world title.

Provisional leading positions after the third stage

Cars: 1. Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (F)/Mitsubishi Evolution/T1 9:25:53

2. Stephane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Mitsubishi Evolution/T1 9:48:50

3. Jean Louis Schlesser / Emmanuel Guigou (F)/Schlesser/T1 9:51:42

4. Carlos Sousa / Andreas Schulz (P / D)/Volkswagen/T1 9:54:14

5. Nasser Al Attiyah / Alain Guehennec QA / FX-raid GmbH BMW X3 T 10;37:20

6. Jutta Kleinschmidt / Tina Thorner (D / S)/BMW/T1 10:53:00

7. Jose Luis Monterde / Jean-Marie Lurquin (E / B)/BMW/T1 10:59:17

8. Hiroshi Masuoka / Pascal Maimon (J / F)/Mitsubishi Evolution/T1 11:02:03

9. Mark Corbett / Juan Mohr (ZA)/ Nissan Navara/T 11;12:07

10. Yahya Alhelei / Khalid Alkendi (UAE)/Chevrolet /T1 11:38:20

Bikes: 1. Marc Coma (E) / KTM 660 LC4 10:24:10; 2. Cyril Despres (F) / KTM 660 LC4 M3 10:31:16; 3. Isidre Esteve Pujol (E) / KTM 660 LC4 10:35:15; 4. Jordi Viladoms (E) / KTM 660 LC4M3 10:37:39 5. David Casteu (F) / KTM 660 LC4 10:43:30; 6. Christopher Blais (USA) / KTM Red Bull KTM 660 LC4 M3 10:45:46; 7. Pal Anders Ullevalsetter (N) / KTM 660 Rally 10:46:21; 8. Frans Verhoeven (NL) / KTM Gauloises KTM 660 LC4 M3 10:50:36; 9. Jacek Czachor (PL) / Orlen Team KTM 450 LC4 M3 11:10:09 10: James West (GB) Honda M1 11:11:26.