Overview
- Seth Quintero won the 400 km Yanbu–Al‑Ula special by 1m42s to deliver Toyota a 1‑2‑3‑4‑5 stage result, the first top‑five lockout by one make since 2007.
- Henk Lategan finished second with Yazeed Al‑Rajhi third after a costly opening day, as Toby Price and João Ferreira completed Toyota’s top‑five sweep.
- Nasser Al‑Attiyah leads the rally overall by seven seconds from Quintero, with Guillaume de Mévius third at +1m09s and the top seven covered by under three minutes.
- Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa’s measured Stage 1 brought all three GR Hilux IMT Evos home inside the top 15, including a top‑10 for Guy Botterill despite an early puncture.
- Start order, punctures and tricky navigation reshaped Stage 2 running, with early leader Saood Variawa slipping to a late top‑10 as the event heads into more long, rocky tests.