Summarize

16h05 - cars: The first cars are through CP1 with Stephane Peterhansel on a charge taking charge with Giniel de Villiers keeping him honest 45 seconds adrift ahead of Despres and Loeb, but Sainz spoils the party to go 11 sec clear of Peter as we type...

16h03 - bikes: Of the South African riders, David Thomas was 49th through CP4, Willem du Toit 64th and Donovan van der Langenberg 68th at CP3 and Gerrie van der Byl and Wessel Bosman 121st and 122nd at CP2 

16h00 - bikes: The action and drama appears fraught among the motorcycle front runners Sunderland, Price and Quintanilla all three leading at some point this morning. Quintanilla had however opened up a handy lead over Sunderland, Benevides, Soultrait and Price by the penultimate CP6. Barreda, Walkner and van Beveren are however not having a good day. The Spaniard, who opened the way, is currently 5 min 36 behind the stage leader, with Walkner trailing by 6:18 and van Beveren 9:16.

15h20 - cars: Sunday's winner Cyril Despres has opened proceedings with Stéphane Peterhansel , Seb Loeb and Giniel de Villiers in hot pursuit. Will the Toyota man be able to stem that Peugeot tide today...?t

14h33 - bikes: Sunderland, Price and Quintanilla continued to fight it out up front with Soutrait and Benevides close behind at CP4, whie theere was a surprise at CP1 as unfancied French rider Johnny Aubert passed the point in the third quickest time on his Gas Gas. SA rider David Thomas is meanwhile enjoying a better start to day 3 passing CP1 in 53rd after starting 70th this morning. 

14h00 - bikes: Its all change up front at CP1 with Sam Sunderand and Toby Price out front for KTM, with Yamaha rider Xavier de Coutrait third  from Quintanilla, Meo and Benavides.

13h00 - all: Dakar is already proving a race of attrition with Sunday's first major stage wreaking havoc as motorcyclists Adrien Metge, Pablo Pascual, Charles Cuypers, Jakub Piatek, Danny Nogales, Stéphane Bouvier, Jeroen Ramon, Olivier Hembert, Lajos Horvath and Arturo Chirinos all exited stage left leaving their Dakar dreams in tatters. On the car front major scalps included those of Mini man Bryce Menzies and Toyota's  Lucio Alvares along with SA navigator Rob Howie's Toyota. Other Day 2 car retirements included Sebastian Guayasamin and Ramon Nunez have dropped out in the car category, while Mariano Bennazar is out of the quad race and Georges Ginesta exited the truck category, while several other competitors are still stuck in the sand on the second stage and  unikey able to reach the start of the third stage in time…

12h45 - bikes: Joan Barreda Bort opens the day's action - today's stage passes 7 checkpoints, so let's hope the Dakar timing system is quick and efficient today. The South African bikers set off a from around 13h 55 and the cars start 15h00 SA time - be sure to come back here regularly through the afternoon and this evening to keep abreast with today's latest Dakar developments... 

07h35 - all: Monday's Day 3 Dakar action will see competitors back into the canyons and desert dunes around the Peruvian port of Pisco, so one would expect another day full of action and drama once the first bike and quad set off  and a quarter to one SA time - 05h45 local time at Pisco. The bikes and quads will leave the main route for a fifteen-kilometre detour, without increasing the day’s total distance. Follow the action here from around midday with regular live updates until the finish later this evening. 

07h30 - all: Today's action starts with the bikes and quads setting off into similar conditions to Sunday in the dunes around Pisco. Overall leader and stage 2 winner Juan Barreda Bort will be first bike away at 11:45 SA time on his Honda, with van Beveren's Yamaha and Walkner on a KTM in hot pursuit, while Ignacio Casale will lead the bikes away. The cars then set off at 15h11 with Cyril Despres first away ahead of Peugeot teammates Peterhansel and Loeb and Ginie de Villiers fourth away. The TreasuryOne Amarok is due to set off at 17h18

07h25 - trucks: The trucks were last to finish as usual on Sunday as 2017 winner Eduard Nikolaev beat Federico Villagra and Aleš Loprais home as the leading trio opened a healthy lead over the rest of the behemoth fields

07h20 - quads: Ignacio Casale scored a second consecutive victory on the dunes of Isca, just 43 seconds clear of his great rival Sergey Karyakin in what is fast becoming a titanic battle between the 2014 and 2017 Dakar quad champions.

07h15 - bikes: Of the South Africans motorcyclists who finished after last night's report, David Thomas brought his Husqvarna home 72nd, Donovan van der Langeberg was ten positions further back in 82nd, Willem du Toit 85th, Gerry van der Byl 121st and Lesotho rider Wessel Boisman 124th - all of them on KTMs

07h10 - cars: Day 2 was however not good for South African Toyota navigator Rob Howie, who was reading notes for Argentine driver Lucio Alvarez in a Toyota Hilux. The pair started the race in fine form but a heavy roll in Stage 2 brought an end to their challenge, and even though both crew members are unharmed, the car is no longer able to continue, meaning a disappointing end to their challenge.

07h05 - cars: Sunday saw a great performance from Giniel de Villiers, who bounced back to split the flying Peugeots in fouth on the day as he moved up to third overall in his SA-built and run Gazoo Toyota Hilux. “It was really tough out there,” de Villiers explained. “The dunes can be quite tricky in places, and finding your way really is a challenge in these conditions.”

07h00 - cars: Monday sees crews heading straight back into the desert for Dakar’s third 296km special stage, once again around Pisco, before a 208km liaison down south to San Juan de Marcona. With two-thirds of the stage again through the dunes, Hennie de Klerk and the TreasuryOne Amarok will be looking for more of the same in Stage 3 after climbing from 58th t0 32nd overall in similar conditions on Sunday....