Qatari speedster Nasser Al Attiyah crossed the finish line ahead of the field, but it wasn't just a win he was after.

The Volkswagen driver sat a full 15 minutes off overall leader Carlos Sainz at the start of the day. With just three rounds to go he needed to be blistering.

Even though he came home in first, it was Sainz, who drove a textbook race. The Spaniard finished third overall, establishing a lead of 12 minutes and 48 seconds.

Such an advantage – barring a crash in the final two stages – should crown him Silk Way Rally Champion for 2010, which will be a repeat of last year’s success.

“Another hard stage on the Silk Way Rally. Very long. There were no dunes but a lot of navigation. There were three of four places where we had doubts and it was stressful. At the end we overtook Nasser because he went the wrong way. We lost some time on the day to Nasser, but I am very happy to have finished with the long hard stages,” Sainz told the event’s official website.

In the trucks category, there is, as usual, no match for the Russian drivers as the three top positions are occupied by the Kamaz team.

Stage 6 winner Eduard Nikolaev holds a solid 33-minute lead over Firdaus Kabirov, with Vladimir Chagin in third.