A dramatic second day of action at the <a href="https://menainsights.com/uae-chairs-inaugural-upu-council-of-administration-meeting-reinforcing-its-leadership-in-global-postal-transformation/”>inaugural World Rally Championship round in Saudi Arabia delivered a series of unexpected twists, as the leading title contenders faltered on the challenging terrain. Running first on the day’s seven stages, the championship protagonists struggled for pace and ended the day just inside the top ten of the overall standings.
At the end of Day 2, Frenchman Adrien Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria took an unexpected lead of Rally Saudi Arabia, with the Hyundai pairing holding a slender six-second advantage at the top of the leaderboard going into Friday. After the morning session, it was Latvian M?rti?š Sesks who had led the way in his M-Sport-run Ford Puma, but a puncture on SS6 dropped him down to third. Finland’s Sami Pajari sits in second place.
Further back, Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mates Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier struggled as they went head-to-head in their bid to secure the 2026 WRC crown. Evans admitted he was too cautious early on, but his position as first competitor out on the stage compromised his outright pace, with drivers running later enjoying an improved road surface. The only downside was the heightened risk of punctures caused by dislodged rocks. Several drivers — including fellow title contender Kalle Rovanperä — suffered punctures on the gravelly stages.
Wednesday’s action unfolded across three special stages situated in the beautiful Arabian landscape on the outskirts of Jeddah — Al Faisaliyah, Moon Stage and Khulais — which the drivers tackled twice, once in the morning and again in the afternoon. All three were characterised by sandy, rocky terrain that tested crews to the limit. In the evening, there was a second run of the spectacular Jameel Motorsport Super Special on the Jeddah Corniche.
An early start in the desert
The second day of the first-ever Rally Saudi Arabia began with the 19.36km Al Faisaliyah stage, defined by long flat-out sections, a few jumps and plenty of sand dunes. Ogier was immediately quicker than his championship rival — by nearly 13 seconds — as Evans revealed he had been too cautious. Belgian Thierry Neuville suffered a heavy landing in his Hyundai and cracked his windscreen, while Sesks set the early pace to lead the rally.
SS3, Moon Stage featured a more abrasive surface with twistier, more technical sections littered with volcanic rocks and boulders. The early runners swept the loose surface for those behind, and once again, Sesks was quickest on the dusty road, ahead of Fourmaux and Pajari.
After two relatively flat stages, the morning concluded with the 11.33km Khulais test — a completely different challenge, carved through mountainous gravel tracks with significant elevation changes. Cheered on by visiting fans, Rovanperä lost more than 50 seconds with a left-rear puncture, choosing to nurse the car to the finish rather than stopping to change his tyre.
On Khulais, both Evans and Sesks misjudged a left-hander over a blind crest and briefly turned into a junction, losing time as they rejoined the correct route. Despite the moment, Sesks still led the rally as the crews headed back to the Service Park: 1.3 seconds clear of Fourmaux, with Pajari less than half a second behind in third.
Drama in the afternoon
The morning’s three stages were repeated in the afternoon and continued to generate drama on this inaugural Saudi WRC event under 35°C heat and a blazing sun. Evans was first on the road and, despite increasing his pace on Al Faisaliyah, he remained slower than team-mate Ogier. Sesks continued his fine form to set the fastest time in SS5 and appeared to relish the sandy dunes: “If this is like Dakar — then I want to do it!” he joked at the finish.
Behind the front-runners, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah endured a heavy landing over a jump that tore off the rear boot of his Ford Puma. He continued the rest of the day — including a puncture on SS6 — covered in dust and sand entering through the open rear.
Sesks looked set to extend his lead on the second pass of the 20.12km Moon Stage, but he picked up a right-rear puncture towards the end, dropping him from first to third overall. Pajari moved into P1 after winning SS6, but an issue with his right-front tyre on the next stage dropped him behind Fourmaux.
In the final two stages, Ogier maintained his strong pace — including a joint-fastest time in the Jameel Motorsport Super Special Stage (SS8) — climbing from eighth to seventh in the overall classification. With Evans currently sitting ninth, Ogier provisionally leads the World Championship by a single point. But Rally Saudi Arabia still has plenty of action ahead, with six more stages tomorrow and three on Saturday.
What to expect on Day 3
On Friday, Evans will start fourth in road order, with Ogier in sixth. They will start with the 11.69km Algulah (SS9/12), a mix of sandy desert track and narrow mountain roads, featuring a tricky set of downhill hairpins. Friday’s longest test is the 30.58km Um Al Jerem (SS10/13), beginning with a series of flat valley roads, before climbing steeply into the mountains. The final stage of the day is Wadi Almatwi, a 28.59km blast of undulating terrain with exposed drops on either side.