Peterhansel, Coma bounce back, Italian fights for life

IQUIQUE, Chile: Pre-race favorites French driver Stephane Peterhansel and Spanish motorcyclist Marc Coma rebounded from disastrous stages on Wednesday to win the latest legs of the event on Thursday.

However, their relief for at least putting Wednesday's nightmare showing behind them was tempered by 29-year-old Italian motorcyclist Luca Manta's dreadful crash which left him fighting for his life with serious head injuries.

Peterhansel had all but conceded he was out of contention for the overall title after losing over two hours because of serious mechanical problems when he also lost the overall lead.