Overview
- A six-minute speeding penalty to Ross Branch handed the Stage 1 moto victory and overall lead to 20-year-old Edgar Canet, with Daniel Sanders second and Ricky Brabec third.
- Guillaume De Mévius, navigated by Mathieu Baumel, won the cars stage in a Mini ahead of Nasser Al‑Attiyah, as several rivals managed pace to avoid opening the next stage.
- Argentina starred in Challenger: David Zille and Sebastián Cesana won the stage and lead the class, Nicolás Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini finished third, and Kevin Benavides took seventh on his four-wheel debut.
- Luciano Benavides placed fifth in motos as the top Argentine finisher after a rugged, technical opener around Yanbu.
- Benjamín Pascual leads the Mission 1000 alternative‑energy classification to cap a strong opening day for Argentina across categories.