PARIS -- France's Stephane Peterhansel stormed into the lead of the Dakar Rally on Thursday after mechanical problems cost Mitsubishi teammate Hiroshi Masuoka more than an hour.

The Frenchman, an early leader of the rally before collecting a five minute penalty, surged ahead to win the 355-kilometer eighth stage and lead Belgian Gregoire De Mevius' BMW by one hour, four minutes and 38 seconds.

Masuoka slipped to third place previously occupied by Briton Colin McRae, the 1995 world rally champion, who was forced to wait for assistance after suffering serious mechanical difficulties in his Nissan at the 300 km mark.

It was not the only hold up in the desert for Masuoka, chasing his third successive Dakar triumph.

The Japanese revealed before the start of the run from Atar to Tidjikja that a Mauritanian army soldier had pointed a gun at him the previous day to demand money when he entered the country.

"He said 'Stop and give me some money'," the Eurosport website quoted Masuoka as saying. "But I didn't give him anything and I took back my passport. It's the first time it's happened to me and I hope it will be the last."

However, the Associated Press story's account of how Masuoka responded was different.

"I cut the motor, and put my hands up,'' two-time defending rally champion Hiroshi Masuoka of Japan told France 2 television.

French TV showed soldiers surrounding each car, truck and bike at the border.

"The soldiers were armed. They were saying to each car to pay 50 euros,'' Masuoka said. "We discussed this. This was the first time this ever happened to me, so I agreed.''

Germany's Jutta Kleinschmidt, the first woman to win the Dakar, was second fastest on Thursday but looked likely to be disqualified after starting with a replacement engine in her Volkswagen Touareg.

In the motorcycle category, Spain's Nani Roma took the overall lead from French rider Cyril Despres, who had a nightmare day.

Despres, who dropped to seventh place, lost his way in the desert after falling and accidentally unplugging his GPS positioning system. He then ran out of fuel.

"It was the worst day of my life," said Despres. "There are days when everything goes wrong."

Friday's ninth timed stage is 736 km from Tidjikja to Nema in eastern Mauritania.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.