PARIS, Jan 8 - Frenchman Jean-Pierre Fontenay became the first driver to win two stages of the Dakar rally when he took the 415-km fifth stage from Timbuktoo to Gao in his Mitsubishi on Wednesday.
Fontenay, the first stage winner on Saturday, finished in front of team mates Kenjiro Shinozuka and Bruno Saby, who retained the overall lead just nine seconds ahead of the Japanese.
Only Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser in his buggy, fourth in the stage and fourth overall, seems capable of upsetting the Mitsubishis. He is 15 minutes 50 seconds behind Saby.
The fourth Mitsubishi driver Hiroshi Masuoka of Japan, sixth in the stage placings, has dropped more than an hour behind the leader.
The rally returns to Niger on Thursday after several years of avoiding the country for security reasons. The organisers confirmed they had received assurances that the country was no longer a security risk.
In the motorcyle section, Frenchman Thierry Magnaldi, whose KTM suffered mechanical problems on Tuesday, recovered to win the fifth stage.
But compatriot Stephane Peterhansel, the leader from the outset on a Yamaha, opened the gap over his nearest rival Jordi Arcarons of Spain to one hour 10:30.
Arcarons was a lowly sixth in the stage, more than 18 minutes behind Magnaldi.
