La Rioja, Argentina  - Giniel de Villers won Thursday's Dakar Rally stage and reclaimed the overall lead because Spain's Carlos Sainz was forced to abandon the race on a day of mixed emotions for the Volkswagen team.

The two-time rally world champion Sainz and his co-pilot Michel Perin drove their VW Touareg into a ravine. Sainz escaped unhurt and could have continued but Perin sustained a shoulder injury which ended their title hopes.

The official Dakar website said they were taken by helicopter to a bivouac in Fiambala where Thursday's stage to La Rioja with a timed section of 253 kilometres had started.

"Suddenly there was this four metres hole. We plunged into it and landed on the roof," said Sainz.

Sainz won six of the 10 stages contested so far and led by more than 27 minutes going into Thursday's stage. He is the second race leader to go out as BMW driver Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar was disqualified for missing checkpoints last week.

"I am very disappointed but I hope that our team will win in the end," Sainz said.

VW motorsport director MKris Nissen said: "Our most promising team is no longer in the race but we still have two strings to our bow."

De Villers and Miller are set to battle out the first Dakar champion for VW and aim for personal and national pride because neither an American nor a South Africa has won the prestigious race.

Miller led for most of Thursday's 12th stage where drivers had to battle sand dunes and adverse weather. But he eventually had to bow to de Villiers who took his third stage win in 4 hours 6 minutes 43 seconds with a strong finish.

Miller trailed by 16:17 minutes which saw his overall 14-minute lead turn into a deficit of 2:35 minutes on de Villiers. The small gap promises a thrilling finale in the final two stages and Sunday's closing parade in Buenos Aires.

American Robby Gordon came third on the day and now holds the same position overall, 1:18:52 minutes behind de Villiers.

Frenchman Cyril Despres got his third stage win in the motorbike category 1:23 minutes ahead of fellow-KTM rider Marc Coma, but remains second behind the 2006 champion from Spain with a deficit of 1:29:48 hours. Frenchman David Fretigne is third overall on a Yamaha.

Coma is bidding for his second Dakar title following 2006 while Despres won in 2005 and 2007. (dpa)