Loeb won yesterday’s stage for his third win of the gruelling rally during his maiden event.

Loeb won the 327km timed run in 3 hours 32 minutes and 34 seconds with his Peugeot teammates, Carlos Sainz and Stephane Peterhansel, completing a sweep for the French manufacturer.

Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah, the 2015 champion, ran in fourth, some 3 minutes 7 seconds off the pace of Loeb.

The South African duo of Leeroy Poulter and Robert Howie, finished fifth in 3 hours 38 minute 41 seconds, to edge countryman, Giniel de Villiers, into fifth overall.

Loeb says he is happy with the way his car performed during the first mountain stage.

“It was a good day - I pushed really hard from the start.

“I had a good feeling and the car was perfect again, so there's nothing to add.

"It was a good day and tomorrow we will be first on the road so it might be another story, but it's a part of the experience that we have."

Today’s stage starts and finishes in Uyuni in Bolivia before they head to Salta tomorrow.

Morgan Piek / OFM News

Photo: Sebastien Loeb - Dean Mouhtaropoulos