Frenchman Cyril Despres won the motorcycle stage and claimed first place overall after a navigational error by defending champion Marc Coma of Spain.

French motorcyclist Sebastien Coue was in critical condition after crashing during the second stage. Coue was found in sand dunes in western Argentina, and hospital officials said it was not clear how long he had been unconscious and exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees C (104 F).

The Dakar Rally, considered one of the most dangerous in motor sports, has already claimed three lives this year. Argentine bike rider Jorge Martinez Boero died in a crash in Sunday's first stage. On the same day, the pilot of an ultralight plane and his son died when the aircraft went down while following the race.

Roma won the 208-kilometer (130-mile), high-altitude special from San Rafael to San Juan in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 51 seconds. He was 1:09 ahead of Holowczyc and 1:29 in front of last year's winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah in a Hummer.

For Roma, it was only his third stage win in a car but his 15th in race history.

Holowczyc led the overall by 54 seconds from American Robby Gordon in a Hummer. Giniel Devilliers of South Africa, the 2009 champion, was 1:40 behind in third in a Toyota.

In bikes, Despres took the 270-kilometer (170-mile) special stage in 3:48:38. He finished 8:37 in front of Frans Verhoeven of the Netherlands, and 8:39 faster than Portuguese Paulo Goncalves.

More importantly, Despres was 10:12 ahead of his biggest rival, KTM teammate Coma. The leader after stage two, Coma took a wrong turn after more than 160 kilometers and had to backtrack for 16 kilometers, losing 13 minutes, and finished in seventh place.

"Yesterday was my day but today definitely wasn't," Coma said.

Despres said: "It's good for my position, even if I'm never happy about other people's setbacks." In the overall standings in bikes, French rider David Casteu was third, 17:16 behind.

The fourth consecutive Dakar in South America is different to the first three, which featured loop courses from Buenos Aires to Chile, and then back to Buenos Aires. This year the race begins in Argentina, passes through Chile, and finishes in Lima, Peru, on Jan. 15.