French driver Sebastien Loeb won the second stage of the Dakar Rally, held between the Peruvian cities of Pisco and San Juan de Marcona.

He beat Spaniard Joan 'Nani' Roma (Mini) by eight seconds on Tuesday, reports Efe news.

The Frenchman said the strategy of starting behind in order to follow the cars ahead of him and avoid choosing the wrong path paid off.

Loeb is competing in a Peugeot 3008.

He climbed to fifth position in the rankings and will compete in the third stage between San Juan de Marcona and Arequipa over 798 kilometers, 331 of which will be timed.

--IANS

gau/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)