Defender Rally make history with debut Dakar victory

Defender Rally have won the 2026 Dakar Rally, the toughest off-road challenge in the world, in their debut year, as drivers Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal win the Stock class in the Defender Dakar D7X-R.

After two weeks of racing over relentlessly tough terrain, fellow teammates Sara Price and Sean Berriman finished in second place, whilst ‘Mr Dakar’ Stéphane Peterhansel and co-driver Mika Metge finished in fourth position in the Dakar Rally Stock class rankings.

The overall Stock class win followed Rokas and Oriol claiming victory in today’s Stage 13 competition in just 55 minutes and 51 seconds, with Stephane and Mika finishing second, and Sara and Sean completing today’s result in third.

The trio of Defender Rally crews achieved a ‘1-2-3’ result across 10 of the 13 stages, demonstrating dedication, precision and unwavering spirit. And over the 14-days of gruelling competition, the three Defender Dakar D7X-Rs racked up a combined total of 24,000km traversing the Saudi Arabian desert.

Defender Rally Driver Rokas Baciuška said: “Dreams come true you know, and it was my dream to win Dakar. For the first year for Defender, it’s amazing. Our mechanics did a great job – what they do is unbelievable, working every day until early in the morning to prepare the cars for the next stage. I give my thanks to them, the engineers, the entire team because without them, we would not be here. It’s great to be P1 and P2.”

Defender Rally Driver Sara Price, said: “Dakar Rally was just incredible. We had a goal at the final stage to get to the finish line as a team together. So to see the whole Defender team sitting there at the finish line and all their excitement and emotions, it just shows what this is all about and what it means. To get this team to the finish line in P1 and P2 is just, wow, incredible.”

Defender Rally Driver and 14-time Dakar Rally winner, Stéphane Peterhansel, said: “Today the stage was short, but fast and really dynamic, so we pushed in the beginning and to the end, and we had a lot of fun driving. Overall, it was a Dakar with full emotion – sometimes up, sometimes down. But the main target was to win the Stock class, and Rokas finished first and Sara second. For us, it was a little bit more complicated, but what I keep in my mind, that it was nice adventure with a super good team, super team spirit between all the members – the mechanics and all the staff. Then me and my co-driver, we were already close together. So yes it’s not exactly the result that I expect for me, but I’m super happy because it was a really nice Dakar for me.”

Defender Rally’s winning car in the Stock class, the Defender Dakar D7X-R, is closely related to the production Defender OCTA. The life of each Defender Dakar D7X-R began on the same bodyshell assembly line at Defender’s state-of-the-art facility in Nitra, Slovakia, as every production customer Defender. The Defender Dakar D7X-R carries the same robust D7x body architecture, transmission and driveline layout as the Defender OCTA, the most capable production Defender ever made. It is also powered by the OCTA’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. The Defender Dakar D7X-R is then modified for the extremes of W2RC competition with wider track, increased ride height, new suspension and enhanced cooling.

Throughout the triumphant 2026 Dakar Rally, the team were supported by Official Partners Castrol, YETI, Bilstein, Bell & Ross, and Epic Games, along with official suppliers Shackleton and Alpinestars.

Mark Cameron, Managing Director, Defender, said: “I feel exhilarated, amazed, and I can’t believe it. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. To see the three Defenders come over the line together, it’s the culmination of an incredible team effort. To see us win it in our first race has made history, and to also come second in such style. The team spirit has just been incredible. They’re just so proud.”

Ian James, Team Principal of Defender Rally, said: “Honestly, I couldn’t be more proud of the entire team. Not only the fact that we’ve won Dakar in the way that we have, but the manner in which everybody’s pulled together and worked so hard throughout has been simply outstanding. So, I’m looking forward to the celebrations. A huge congratulations, of course, to Rokas and Oriol in particular, but to every member of the team. A huge thank you for the efforts in getting us to this point, and long may it continue.”

Defender Rally will compete at the next round of the World Rally-Raid Championship at the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal from 17-22 March 2026.

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