Toby Price has managed to protect his lead in the Dakar Rally after finishing third in the 10th stage of the South American contest.

Price saw fellow KTM rider Stefan Svitko take the stage win with the Australian limiting the damage to maintain the outright lead by just over 23 minutes.

Honda rider Paulo Goncalves bounced back with a strong effort and sits third outright.

With three stages remaining before the finish in Rosario, Price has the relative luxury of a decent buffer but remains cautious, claiming there are ‘no guarantees’.

“I took it easy because my motorcycle struggled in the heat yesterday,” Price said.

“I also focused on navigating. Two chaps came from behind and caught up with me, but I can’t complain, it was a good stage.

“I can ride a bit more defensively now, no need to attack to gain time like I did yesterday.

“I’ve got some margin, but no guarantee.

“I must avoid any mistakes or missing waypoints.

“What’s important is to be in good shape and ready to kick it up a notch if necessary.”

In the car category Dakar master Stephane Peterhansel claimed the outright lead following the woes which crippled fellow Peugeot driver Carlos Sainz.

The 2010 winner Sainz suffered a series of troubles with his DKR 2008 ultimately with a gearbox failure.

With Sainz’s run over the 11-times winner Stephane Peterhansel now holds a one hour advantage over Mini star Nasser Al-Attiyah while Toyota driver Giniel de Villiers moved into third place.

Mikko Hirvonen maintains fourth position in his Mini.

The field is now confronted with 431km of special mileage that marks Stage 11 from La Rioja to San Juan.