BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- South African pilot Giniel DeVilliers (Volkswagen) won on Thursday the 12th stage on cars of the Dakar Argentina-Chile Rally and recovered the leadership on the general board, favored by the retirement of his teammate, Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

South Africa's Giniel De Villiers drives his Volkswagen during the ninth stage of the South American edition of the Dakar 2009, from Serena to Copiapo, January 12, 2009.

De Villiers, 36 years old, timed 4:06'43" followed by U.S. pilots Mark Miller (Volkswagen) with 16'17" later and Robby Gordon (Hummer) with 25'27" later.

This is De Villiers's the 3rd stage win in the Rally 2009 and he returned to the 1st place on the general board. He had got the 1st after winning at the 6th stage, when Qatari Al-Attiyah (BMW) left the competition.

At the general board, De Villiers is on 1st place with 43:46'58", followed by Miller with 2'35" later and Gordon with 18'52" later.