Spain’s Nani Roma (Mitsubishi) won the 13th stage of the Dakar Rally on Friday as the 2009 version prepares to conclude Saturday. Roma was more than seven minutes ahead of Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc (Nissan) and Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit (BMW) when heavy rain cut the 13th stage short. Leader Giniel De Villiers finished the stage eighth, 14 minutes off the pace, but held on to his lead inherited Thursday when leader Carlos Sainz crashed out of the race. De Villiers lead is a scant two minutes 20 seconds on Volkswagen teammate Mark Miller, who finished the stage in seventh, 15 seconds in front of De Villiers. Robby Gordon (Hummer) was 16th in Stage 13, 22 minutes 49 seconds behind Roma. Gordon remains third with one stage remaining, 1 hour and 27 minutes behind De Villiers.(NASCAR.com)(1-16-2009)
