Overview
- Guillaume de Mevius, co-driven by Mathieu Baumel, won the 305 km Stage 1 around Yanbu and took the overall lead by 40 seconds over Dacia’s Nasser Al‑Attiyah.
- Defending champion Yazeed Al‑Rajhi received a 16‑minute penalty for a missed waypoint and speeding, leaving him nearly 29 minutes behind after the opening stage.
- Ford converted prologue speed into solid results as Mattias Ekström led much of Stage 1 before dropping to fourth, with privateer Martin Prokop bringing a Ford Raptor home in third.
- Toyota’s factory trio struggled on the opener, with Toby Price, Henk Lategan and Seth Quintero classified 16th to 18th, including a two‑minute speeding penalty for Quintero.
- Baumel’s return to victory came 11 months after his right lower leg amputation, highlighting a notable comeback as the two‑week, nearly 8,000 km W2RC opener continues with extensive global coverage.