THE SIDELIGHTS : Auriol Wins Day of Paris-Dakar

Frenchman Hubert Auriol, driving a Lada, won today’s time stage of the Paris-Dakar rally on the next-to-last day of the race. Ari Vatanen of Finland continued to lead the overall standings in his quest for a fourth victory in this event.

Auriol covered the 177 miles from Kiffa to Kayes, Mauritania, in 1 hour, 36 minutes, 13 seconds.

Auriol was followed 17 seconds later by his teammate, Frenchman Patrick Tambay. Sweden’s Kenneth Ericksson was third, more than a minute behind Auriol.

Vatanen, driving a Citroen ZX, remained more than two hours ahead of Pierre Lartigue of France, driving a Mitsubishi, in the overall standings. Lartigue’s teammate, Jean-Pierre Fontenay, was third.

Gilles Lalay of France won today’s race in the motorcycle division, driving a Yamaha.