Spaniard Nani Roma had taken Stage 5 in a 01:23 minute victory over soon to be Champion Stéphane Peterhansel and was 05:59 minutes off Nasser Al-Attiyah’s (QAT) first place overall standing. Much like this year, American Robby Gordon bounced back for a third place finish on Stage 5 in 2013 after a catastrophic beginning to the Dakar. Roma was on an early path for his first Dakar win in the car category but we all know Peterhansel went on to win in convincing fashion. After falling behind to Carlos Sainz (ESP) in Stage 4, Nani Roma laid down a crazy fast time and has taken back his first place standing overall, with a 00:26:28 lead on Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Complimenting his win yesterday, Sainz was first to leave Chilecito for the beginning of the special stage. Today’s special was the longest of the rally and already the field of talent has been dwindling day by day. 527km/328mi was split up in to two sections. However, due to “safety concerns,” the special was shortened to 428km/265mi. Navigation proved to be the key factor in todays stage blowout by Nani Roma. A 14-kilometre stretch of dunes and further off-road sections made the task of navigating tricky for the drivers and co-drivers. Camel grass, yet more soft, sandy ground and the many river beds to be negotiated posed genuine challenges to teams.
Racers will have a well deserved rest day giving all teams a chance to catch up on much needed rest and work on vehicle problems after tomorrow’s stage.
| Stage 5 Car Ranking | ||
| Position | Stage Time | Split |
| 1. ROMA (ESP) | 004:27:01 | |
| 2. DE VILLIERS (ZAF) | 004:31:21 | +00:04:20 |
| 3. GORDON (USA) | 004:47:13 | +00:20:12 |
| 4. TERRANOVA (ARG) | 004:47:45 | +00:20:44 |
| 5. AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) | 004:48:39 | +00:21:38 |
| 42. BALDWIN (USA) | 007:31:17 | +03:04:16 |
| OVERALL Car Ranking after Stage 5 | ||
| Position | Total Time | Split |
| 1. ROMA (ESP) | 019:21:54 | |
| 2. AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) | 019:48:22 | +00:26:28 |
| 3. TERRANOVA (ARG) | 019:53:40 | +00:31:46 |
| 4. PETERHANSEL (FRA) | 020:01:53 | +00:39:59 |
| 5. DE VILLIERS (ZAF) | 020:03:18 | +00:41:24 |
| 19. GORDON (USA) | 023:56:23 | +04:34:29 |
| 43. BALDWIN (USA) | 029:26:03 | +10:04:09 |
