Overview
- Mitch Guthrie claimed his second stage win after Nani Roma received a 1m10s speeding penalty, with Martin Prokop third to complete a Ford 1‑2‑3 on the 371km special to Hail.
- Henk Lategan kept the overall lead for Toyota by 3m17s over Dacia’s Nasser Al‑Attiyah, with Ford’s Mattias Ekström third at +5m38 and Roma, Carlos Sainz Sr. and Guthrie filling positions four through six.
- Lategan lost nearly 13 minutes while opening the road with no motorcycle tracks to follow, calling it one of his most difficult stages to lead out.
- Al‑Attiyah dropped places on the day after a two‑minute penalty was applied post‑stage, contributing to tighter gaps among the front‑runners.
- The two‑day marathon concluded between AlUla and Hail with no overnight assistance, where punctures, tyre conservation and navigation errors continued to shape stage results and classifications.