The hierarchy installed in the W2RC is already under dispute after only five stages of the first leg. Indeed, only Nasser Al Attiyah seems to be in control of the situation. However, the world champion is already seeing double. Peterhansel and Sainz have replaced his usual rival Loeb. In the T3 category, Austin Jones will have no regrets about joining this category because in the provisional rankings he leads his team-mates in the Red Bull Off-Road Jr Team and Red Bull Can-Am Factory. In the T4 category, Rodrigo Luppi de Oliveira from South Racing Can-Am can start to believe in his dream of dancing the samba in Dammam, but his two pursuers Eryk Goczał and Rokas Baciuška are hot on his heels. In the truck category, the battle between Janus Van Kasteren and Martin Macík is now in the favour of the Dutchman who has regained six minutes over the Czech driver. In the bike category, Skyler Howes seems to be building on the momentum of his impeccable end to last season, yet there are ten riders who can also dream of success, ten within ten minutes within the top 10. In the Rally2 class, the fall suffered by HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing’s Paolo Lucci has given breathing space to the runner-up in the 2022 season. BAS World KTM Racing’s Romain Dumontier has regained the provisional lead in the championship. As for the quads, the illustrious newcomer Manuel Andújar is bearing the consequences of the consistency shown by Laysvidas Kancius and Pablo Copetti
