Overview
- Saood Variawa won the 483km Wadi Ad-Dawasir loop by three seconds over fellow South African Henk Lategan, delivering a Toyota one‑two in the longest special.
- Nasser Al-Attiyah finished fifth to retain the overall car lead for Dacia, now exactly four minutes ahead of Ford’s Mattias Ekström, with Lategan up to third at +6:08.
- Ekström, awarded Stage 7 after Lategan’s late delay, placed third on Stage 8 as Ford, Toyota and Dacia kept the top five within roughly ten minutes.
- Argentina’s Luciano Benavides claimed another bike stage and took the overall lead by 10 seconds from KTM teammate and defending champion Daniel Sanders, with Honda’s Ricky Brabec third at +4:47.
- The tight Stage 8 featured dunes, valleys and fast tracks that produced minimal gaps, and riders now head into the opening leg of the marathon stage where tyre management will be critical.