Spain’s Joan Barreda rode to his second stage win of the Dakar Rally on Wednesday when he triumphed over the 315km timed run in the Atacama desert, the first stage to be run in Chile this year.

After passing over the Andes from Argentina, Barreda took his Honda to victory ahead of defending champion Marc Coma on a KTM with Chile’s Pablo Quintanilla, also on a KTM, in third.

In the overall standings, Barreda now leads by 12min 49sec from Coma with Honda teammate Paulo Goncalves of Portugal back in third place, 20min 29sec off the lead.

Meanwhile, Rally organisers are hunting for clues to the cause of the death of motorbike rider Michal Hernik that plunged the race into mourning after only three days.

The 39-year-old Polish rider’s body was found 300 metres from the desert track with no apparent injury and no damage to his motorbike that would indicate an accident, according to race director Etienne Lavigne.

Lavigne added there was no helmet on Hernik when the body was found.

“The circumstances surrounding his death have yet to be determined, as the competitor did not show any external signs of an accident,” said a rally statement on Wednesday.