Motor sport:French driver Stephane Peterhansel captured the Dakar Rally lead on Monday ahead of last year's winner, former Alpine ski champion Luc Alphand.
The two Frenchmen, both driving Mitsubishis, romped ahead after overnight leader South African Giniel de Villiers's Volkswagen broke down on the 497-km ninth stage in Mauritania.
Another Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser won the stage in his Schlesser-Ford. De Villiers was forced to abandon the race early in the day and had to be towed to the finish in Nema.
Carlos Sainz also pulled out with electrical problems and Peterhansel moved nearly eight minutes clear in the overall standings. Alphand was more than an hour ahead of third-placed Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar.
In the motorcycling section Spaniard Marc Coma remained in the
lead ahead of Cyril Despres of France. Latvian amateur Janis
Vinters won the stage.
On Tuesday the 10th stage takes competitors 400 km round
Nema.