BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah rallied strong on Volkswagen team-mate Carlos Sainz's overall lead in the Dakar Rally on Wednesday after the 11th stage, the 220-kilometres special from Santiago in Chile to San Juan of Argentina,.

    Al-Attiyah, who was leading when disqualified last year, gained over five minutes on two-time world rally champion Sainz while Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit, driving a BMW, took the stage on car.

    Dutchman Frans Verhoeven had earlier won the motorcycling section.

    Verhoeven edged out American Jonah Street by three seconds while Frenchman Cyril Despres, seventh on the stage over four minutes in arrears, remained comfortably the overall leader with just three stages remaining.

    Chile's Francisco Lopez retains third place overall while the big loser of the day in terms of a podium finish was Portugal's Helder Rodrigues, who held on to fourth place but lost six minutes on Ullevalseter.