Overview
- Benavides won Stage 8 in 4:26:39 while opening the route and collecting about 7:28 in bonuses, moving to first overall by 10 seconds over Sanders and 4:47 over Ricky Brabec.
- Stage 8 was the rally’s longest timed special and strong winds and navigation challenges in the final sector amplified time gaps among the frontrunners.
- Nasser Al‑Attiyah retained the overall lead in Ultimate cars as Saood Variawa took the stage by three seconds, with Mattias Ekström now about four minutes off the top.
- The rally now enters the second marathon phase with no external assistance, a format that often reshuffles the standings through mechanical management and navigation pressure.
- A day earlier, Argentina logged a rare triple: Luciano Benavides won in bikes, Kevin Benavides earned his first car‑stage victory in Challenger, and Jeremías González Ferioli topped the SSV stage.