Sanders was sixth fastest in the penultimate stage, dropping a sizeable chunk of his overall lead as he conserved through the 152km run.

Tosch Schareina, who sits second overall, was fastest through Stage 11. He completed the stage in 2h12m04s on the leading Honda, 33 seconds clear of Luciano Benavides.

Sanders hasn’t ceded the lead of the rally since controlling the pace in the event’s opening prologue.

The final stage will take in just 61km.

“It was a really cloudy morning, so we had to wait a while to start, and it’s a shame that the weather really impacted the stage so much,” said Sanders.

“I was looking forward to it, but it was the best decision for everyone. I had a good day cruising along and making sure I didn’t take any big risks or make any mistakes.

“It’s going to be fun tomorrow with everyone riding together and the plan is to just sit back and watch everything unfold while I play it safe!”

Schareina said he was happy with his performance despite the enormous deficit to Sanders.

Still, he is holding out hope that he can bridge the nine minutes with one day to go.

“I’m happy,” said the Spaniard.

“I’ve been racing the Dakar for three years now and today I’m battling for overall victory.

“This morning, all the riders agreed, apart from two of them, to stop after the refuelling point for safety reasons, especially visibility in the dunes, because it would be late when we got to them.

“It could have been detrimental to me, but I already calculated yesterday that I would have needed to start two positions further back to be able to hope to catch Daniel Sanders.”

Australia’s other interest in the bikes, Toby Hedrics, sits 19th.