Intro:

A second consecutive stage win in the car category allowed Christian Lavieille and co-driver Pascal Laroque to gain the overall Silk Way Rally lead - with a comfortable 10-minute advantage - in Russia on Tuesday (July 10th).

Script:

The 2012 edition of the Silk Way Rally continued in Russia on Tuesday with stage three.

The day's schedule boasted an imposing 488-kilometre (303-mile) journey from Volgograd to Elista, with endless dunes awaiting those contesting the famous Rally.

Heavy overnight rain made life difficult for some from the outset - with several machines struggling just to exit the service park due to the deep mud.

Once again Christian Lavieille and co-driver Pascal Laroque triumphed, taking the win on stage three to claim their second consecutive victory in the car division of the Rally.

The 46 year-old veteran utilised all of his experience to again dominate the day's proceedings and finished comfortably ahead of Vladimir Vasilyev in second and Beniat Errandonea in third.

The stage win allows Lavieille to usurp Argentina's Lucio Alvarez in the overall classification - and gain the overall rally lead over Jerome Pelichet by just over 10 minutes.

In the truck category Eduardo Nikolaev took the stage win with an impressive five-minute-and-13-second advantage over Alex Loprais in second place, to secure his second win of the Rally so far, after his victory in the opening stage.