Overview
- Guillaume de Mevius won the 305 km opener by 40 seconds over Nasser Al‑Attiyah, with Martin Prokop third and prologue winner Mattias Ekström slipping to fourth after a late fade and a 10‑second speeding penalty.
- Defending champion Yazeed Al‑Rajhi was hit with 16 minutes of penalties for a missed waypoint and speeding, leaving him nearly 29 minutes off the lead after finishing 39th on the stage.
- Ford followed its prologue 1‑2 with five Raptors in the Stage 1 top ten, while Toyota’s factory Hiluxes placed 16th‑18th as Marek Goczał led the brand in fifth and Guy Botterill finished seventh.
- The short prologue set the road order without affecting overall times, highlighting how start position and navigation are already influencing strategy and results.
- On two wheels, 20‑year‑old Edgar Canet leads after winning both the prologue and Stage 1 when Ross Branch lost the stage for speeding, with Daniel Sanders second overall.