Dutch rider Frans Verhoeven, on a KTM, won the ninth stage of motorcycle in the Dakar Rally on Monday after a 430km run from La Serena to Copiapo in Chile.

Marc Coma of Spain, who finished fourth on the day, 4min 59sec behind Verhoeven, kept the overall lead in the standings.

It was the Dutchman's second stage win on this year's race, having claimed the second stage between Santa Rosa and Puerto Madryn in Argentina.

Frenchman David Fretigne, on his 450cc Yamaha, finished second 3min 09sec behind Verhoeven, with Chilean Francisco Lopez (KTM) a further 31sec adrift.

Fretigne, who sits in second overall one hour four minutes behind Coma, said: "It was a stage for navigating and very hard. 430 kilometres for a special stage is very long. There was a bit of everything in this stage, and no room for error.

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2009)