ANTOFAGOSTA, Chile — Mark Miller, a Phoenix native who has been racing off-road since 1979 and has scored two victories in the Baja 1000 in Mexico, on Wednesday became the second American driver in a row to win a stage of the Dakar Rally.
Robby Gordon took the victory in Stage 4 Tuesday.
Miller's victory, in a Volkswagen Touareg, led fellow Volkswagen driver Carlos Sainz to the finish of Stage 4. The 2nd-place finish put Sainz into the overall lead in the race, which will consist of 16 stages making up a route of more than 5,600 miles through Argentina and Chile.
Gordon, who won his class and finished 3rd overall in last year's Dakar, drives a Hummer. Gordon finished 4th in Wednesday's Stage 5.
The event, previously known as the Paris-Dakar Rally, was relocated from its Europe-Africa setting last season to South America. It features competition on a variety of surfaces for cars, motorcycles and trucks.
The Dakar Rally was held annually from 1979-2007, but the 2008 event was canceled because of threats of terrorism.
Giniel de Villiers and Dirk Von Zitzewitz were overall winners last year in the first South American event in a Volkswagen Touareg.
Gordon's team is all-American and privateer, representing the General Motors orphan Hummer, while Miller is a works driver for the VW team based in Hanford, Germany.
Inside Line says: Wave those flags! — David Green, Correspondent
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