Carlos Sainz has admitted he needs a miracle after a nightmare day in the dunes handed control of the Dakar Rally to Nasser Al-Attiyah.

The two main rivals for the overall title only finished fourth and fifth on stage 10 from Copiapo (Chile) to Chilecito (Argentina) but Sainz lost 9:17 on the Qatari.

The defending champion is now 12:37 behind his Volkswagen team-mate in the overall standings.

" If Nasser doesn't make a mistake, it's over," conceded Sainz who had a puncture and gearbox problems during the 862km (with 176km special) trek.

The stage was won South African Giniel de Villiers (Volkswagen) ahead of Poland's Krzysztof Holowczyc (BMW) and French driver Stéphane Peterhansel (BMW).

Eurosport