Carlos Sainz of Spain won the 12th stage of the Dakar Rally on Thursday with the race crossing the southern Mauritanian desert and entering Mali for the first time. Sainz finished the 160-mile trek in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 56 seconds in his Volkswagen. Carlos Sousa of Portugal, also in a Volkswagen, was second, 3:53 behind. Defending champion Luc Alphand of France was third in his Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi driver Stephane Peterhansel of France still leads the overall race, 6:29 ahead of Alphand. American Robby Gordon finished 13th in Thursday’s stage, 18 minutes and 22 seconds behind Sainz. Gordon remains in eighth place overall, 7 hours, 2 minutes and 57 seconds behind leader Peterhansel. The 15-stage race began in Lisbon, Portugal, and ends in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday.(FoxSports)(1-19-2007)
