Scotland's Colin McRae finished an impressive ninth in the second stage of the Dakar Rally. Driving a Nissan, he was one minute 21 seconds behind Jose-Maria Servia on the race's first special stage.
McRae, who was the 1995 World Rally champion, completed the muddy 25km course around Narbonne in France in 26 minutes 21 seconds.
Friday's stage was badly disrupted when a car became stuck on the course for more than an hour.
Only 47 cars completed the course after a buggy driven by Frenchman Claude Arnoux got stuck in a huge rut.
The remaining 95 entrants were given an average time.
Stage-winner Servia was just three seconds ahead of Stephane Peterhansel's Mitsubishi, while Gregoire de Mevius was third in his BMW, a further 23 seconds down.
First-stage winner Kenjiro Shinozuka slipped to 37th after losing over five minutes when he crashed while Huddersfield's Mark Round is 42nd in a Land Rover.
In the bike category, David Fretigne - the only Yamaha rider in the event - took the overall lead.
Reigning champion Richard Sainct is handily placed in fourth.
East Sussex-based Patsy Quick, who became the first British woman to compete in the event last year, is 133rd while Derbyshire's Michael Extance is in 32nd place.
Overall positions after stage two:
Cars:
1. Josep Maria Servia (Spa) Schlesser-Ford 25 minutes
2. Stephane Peterhansel (Fra) Mitsubishi + 0.3 seconds
3. Gregoire De Mevius (Bel) BMW + 26
4. Luc Alphand (Fra) BMW + 35
5. Miki Biasion (Ita) Mitsubishi at 41
Other:
9. Colin McRae (Gbr) Nissan + 1 minute 21 seconds
Motorbikes:
1. David Fretigne (Fra) Yamaha 22 minutes 47 seconds
2. Cyril Despr�s (Fra) KTM + 15secs
3. Nani Roma (Spa) KTM + 57
4. Richard Sainct (Fra) KTM + 58
5 Giovanni Sala (Ita) KTM + 1 minute 01 seconds
MMIX
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