After the overnight rain over Ha'il and northern Saudi Arabia, mist enveloped the area as the first competitors departed the bivouac in the wee hours. The programme gave pride of place to sand amid mountains reaching up to 1,500 masl and famous around the globe for their rock art. While there were parts with stones, sandy tracks made up 85% of the special, including 4% of dunes. Transposed to the 333 km timed sector, these figures packed a real punch! As David Castera had underlined at the previous day's briefing, the competitors had to be ready for the chips to come down. Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz can only agree (see A crushing blow). The two Audi stars got a rude awakening.