Yasir Seaidan won the remaining two desert selective sections of a weather-modified Sharqiyah International Baja Toyota to secure a start-to-finish victory by the margin of 13min 38sec on Saturday. It was the Saudi national’s first ever FIA event victory. With competitors tackling two timed stages on the final day — following the cancellation of Friday’s itinerary because of sand storm conditions — Seaidan and Russian co-driver Alexey Kuzmich were never troubled in their Mini John Cooper Works Rally once early morning pace-setter and pre-event favorite Yazeed Al-Rajhi crashed his Toyota Hilux after 82km of the first stage. He and co-driver Michael Orr were taken to hospital for medical examinations with both complaining of back pain. “Finally we finish this rally,” said Seaidan. “It was not an easy rally. We had a lot of situations. The first leg was canceled so we had to do all the rally in one day. It was difficult but we had a strategy to finish without any problems because we have another round in two weeks. I am so happy to win. The car was okay and we finished without any problems.” To ensure that at least 350 competitive kilometers were available to guarantee the event qualified for full FIA championship points — as per the sporting regulations for FIA Bajas — officials decided to replace Saturday’s scheduled stage with a run through Friday’s canceled section of 217.50km and then repeat the first 138.50km to the second passage control point after the bikes and national cars had completed their first and only pass. After poor visibility forced the cancellation of Friday’s stage, the weather was ideal and visibility was normal on Saturday morning. Helicopters were permitted to fly as usual to fulfil all safety requirements with route amendments and an accurate and precise road book fully approved by both FIA and FIM representatives present before the restart. Saleh Al-Saif duly led the 11 FIA cars into an early morning start, with Seaidan starting in 10th on the road and Al-Rajhi slotting into eighth. Al-Saif duly dominated the FIA T4 category in his Can-Am Maverick X3 and reached the finish in third overall with Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal overhauling the Saudi to take second place in his Ford F-150. A navigational error cost Erik Van Loon valuable time and the Dutchman finished fourth in the second of the Belgian-built Toyota Hiluxes, only for a late time penalty to push him down to seventh in the provisional results.