ARICA, Chile
American Robby Gordon faces disqualification from the Dakar Rally after stewards ruled that the engine in his Hummer did not confirm to race regulations.
The NASCAR driver, who had been second behind overall leader Stephane Peterhansel, decided to appeal the decision and was allowed to compete in the 234-mile (377km) 10th stage from Iquique to Arica on Wednesday.
And during the stage he saw his hopes of victory take another blow as he damaged his vehicle and lost over 14 minutes on stage winner Nani Roma.
"I hit a rock with both right-side tires and as you can see this wheel is way out, so we've got some broken parts," Gordon said.
"Do I think I can win again? Of course. I was passing him [Peterhansel], he didn't move over and I clobbered a rock and got two flat tires at the same time. So, we've got our work cut out for us."
Peterhansel finished the stage just 21 seconds adrift of Roma's winning time of 3 hours 59 minutes and 37 seconds, extending his overall lead in the process.
Krzysztof Holowczyc had been in third position at the start of the day but saw his hopes of victory ended when mechanical issues forced him to stop during the stage.
Roma has therefore climbed into second position, over 19 minutes adrift of Peterhansel, while Gordon lies third with the appeal hanging over him.
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