Spain's Joan Barreda Bort won Wednesday's 429-kilometre fourth stage of the Dakar Rally around Jujuy in Argentina to place the Honda rider top of the overall standings.

Barreda came home 1min 49sec clear of his Portuguese teammate Paulo Goncalves, with Ruben Faria (Husqvarna) 4min 24sec back in third.

In the overall standings Barreda is almost two minutes in front of Goncalves with another Honda rider, Argentina's Kevin Benavides, more than four minutes off the pace.

Barreda had won Tuesday's third stage only to be docked a minute for speeding with second-placed Benavides handed the win.

Thursday's fifth stage of the marathon two-week rally is a 327-kilometre ride from Jujuy to Uyuni in Bolivia.

Source: AFP