Pending validation of results by the race stewards, the Spanish driver Carlos Sainz (VW) has won his 4th stage in this rally and his 13th stage in the Dakar, 4’02 ahead of his German team-mate Dieter Depping (VW) and 4’12 ahead of another team-mate, the American driver Mark Miller (VW). In the general standings, the 1990 and 1992 WRC Champion leads the race with a 10’57 lead over his team-mate, the South-African driver Giniel Devilliers (VW) and 18’05 over Mark Miller (VW). The only survivor of the Mitsubishi team is Spain’s Nani Roma who is fourth in the general standings, 33’31 behind the leader. In the Open category, Robby Gordon (Hummer) has won this stage again and is 5th of the general standings, more than 1h30 behind Sainz. Finally, in the Production category, the Japanese driver Jun Mitsuhashi (Toyota) has won stage 8 but the Frenchman Nicolas Gibon (Toyota) remains the clear leader in the general standings.