Henk Lategan’s lead of the Dakar Rally melted to 21 seconds after a chaotic seventh stage for timings in the Saudi desert on Sunday.

Henk Lategan's overall lead was slashed to 21 seconds as a road book note error caused many drivers at the front of the field to lose their bearings, forcing Dakar Rally organisers to erase any gains or losses for a 20km stretch during Sunday's stage seven.

Toyota’s Lucas Moraes beat Ford rival Mattias Ekstrom to score victory on Stage 7 of Dakar Rally, as Henk Lategan’s advantage was almost entirely eliminated. Competitors faced a shorter 418km test around Al Duwadimi on Sunday,

After the only rest day, the caution of car front-runner Lategan and motorbike pace-setter Sanders allowed their closest pursuers to catch up by up to four minutes on the sixth stage from Ha’il south to Al Duwadimi. South African driver Lategan was seventh on the stage, 6 1/2 minutes behind Belgian winner Guillaume de Mévius.

Henk Lategan's overall Dakar Rally lead was cut to seven minutes and 16 seconds as Yazeed Al-Rajhi closed the gap to the South African despite issues with his car, while Mini's Guillaume de Mevius and Joao Ferreira were the first two to finish stage six in Saudi Arabia.

Overdrive Toyota’s Yazeed Al Rajhi, who lost out big time on the 48-hour chrono stage in last year’s Dakar Rally, thought he had achieved the best accumulated time over the two days

Toyota's South African Henk Lategan stretched his Dakar Rally lead on Thursday while a 10 minute penalty denied Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah a first stage win for Dacia after a dominant day in the Saudi Arabian desert.

Dakar Rally roared into life Friday with the high-speed Prologue stage, featuring 29km/18 miles against the clock around the Start Camp in Bisha, Saudi Arabia. In the Ultimate class, Henk