Defender Makes Dakar History with Stock Class Victory on Debut
Defender Rally has recorded a notable result at the 2026 Dakar Rally, finishing first and second in the Stock class in the team’s first competitive entry at the world’s most demanding off-road event.
The class victory was secured by Rokas Baciuška and co-driver Oriol Vidal in the Defender Dakar D7X-R, completing the fourteen-day rally with an overall time of 58h 09' 45''. Teammates Sara Price and Sean Berriman followed in second place, while Stéphane Peterhansel and Mika Metge finished fourth after a consistent run across the event.
Across thirteen stages, the three Defender crews recorded a 1–2–3 result on ten occasions, covering a combined distance of approximately 24,000 kilometres through the Saudi Arabian desert. For a first-year programme, the consistency across all entries stood out as much as the outright class win.
The result carries particular weight due to the nature of the Stock class. Vehicles competing in this category must retain their production-based architecture, driveline layout, and core engineering principles. As a result, performance is closely linked to the underlying platform rather than extensive prototype development.
The Defender Dakar D7X-R is closely related to the production Defender OCTA. Each vehicle begins life on the same bodyshell assembly line at Defender’s Nitra facility in Slovakia and retains the D7x aluminium monocoque body architecture, transmission layout, and fundamental driveline design of the road-going vehicle. Power comes from the OCTA’s 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, selected for its durability and sustained performance characteristics. For rally-raid competition, the D7X-R runs a wider track, increased ride height, revised suspension, and enhanced cooling systems, all developed within Stock class regulations.
Baciuška described the result as a long-held ambition realised. “Winning Dakar was always a dream,” he said. “For Defender to achieve this in its first year is something special. The mechanics and engineers worked every day, often late into the night, to prepare the cars. Without that effort, this result wouldn’t have been possible.”
Price highlighted the collective focus of the team throughout the rally. “Our goal for the final stage was to reach the finish together,” she said. “Seeing the whole team there at the end showed what the effort meant. Finishing first and second as a group was incredibly rewarding.”
Fourteen-time Dakar winner Peterhansel described the campaign as demanding but memorable. “It was a Dakar with a lot of emotion,” he said. “The target was to win the Stock class, and the team achieved that. The atmosphere within the group, from the mechanics to the drivers, was very strong throughout.”
The 2026 Dakar Rally also marked the opening round of the World Rally-Raid Championship and the first competitive outing in Defender Rally’s planned three-year W2RC programme. The team’s next event will be the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, scheduled for 17–22 March 2026.
For Defender Rally, the debut campaign has established a baseline under the most extreme conditions motorsport offers, with future events set to build on that foundation.
