Defender has won its class on the legendary Dakar Rally

Defender has done it. Across nearly 8,000 kilometres and over every type of terrain on offer in Saudi Arabia, the brand has won the Stock class on the 2026 Dakar Rally. In utterly commanding fashion, too – 13 stage victories from 13 stages. What a way to make your debut in the iconic off-road enduro. At the head of the charge: young Rokas Baciuška, who banked (at least) a podium finish each day as he led the production car category from start to end. 

The 26-year-old Lithuanian and Defender signed off their sterling run in perfect style. Baciuška was fastest on the final day to chalk a seventh stage win ahead of stablemates Stéphane Peterhansel and Sara Price – the American adding to the good vibes by cementing P2 in the combined Stock times. The trio crossed the line in Yanbu (where the whole event started way back on the 3^rd of January) to the cheers and hugs of the entire team at the end of a 10^th 1-2-3 result. 

Versus previous 900-kilometre days on this year’s flagship rally-raid, the final leg was more like a sprint finish. To go with a 36-kilometre road section, the main 105-kilometre timed course completed a neat loop to the Yanbu base camp. Swapping between sand and rocky terrain, the tracks carved their way through valleys and soft lagoons. It then dropped down right to the Red Sea coastline for a high-speed dash (perilously bordered by water-filled ditches for good measure) to the chequered flag and, indeed, the long-awaited podium.

Just because Baciuška entered the day with a four-hour cushion, making him all but set to win the class, don’t think for a moment that he was just going to cruise on Stage 13 and treat it like some kind of victory lap. He flew out of the gates in the Defender Dakar D7X-R, which uses a showroom-spec gearbox, drivelines, chassis and bodywork plus the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine from the Defender OCTA. That gave him a lead at the first checkpoint (just 21 kilometres in) of 88 seconds over Peterhansel, with Price seven seconds further back. 

He and co-driver Oriol Vidal maintained that speed through the second waypoint. Come the third time check at 65 kilometres, the gap to ‘Mr Dakar’ had narrowed slightly to 51 seconds. On the run to the line, Peterhansel clawed back another 20 seconds but there was no stopping Baciuška’s entirely fitting end to his brilliant campaign. He completed the route in just under 56 minutes, the smooth last act securing the class win for both driver and team.

“Amazing!” said a jubilant Baciuška. “For the first year for Defender, for me the first time in the Stock category, to bring the title was a big opportunity. It’s really nice. The team did a big job, not sleeping too much. I just need to say thank you. This a nice moment.”

Let’s put the sheer scale of Baciuška’s dominance in context. Compare his four-hour win to the unbelievably close duel in the top Rally GP motorbike class. KTM rider Luciano Benavides pipped his rival, Honda’s Ricky Brabec, over the 13 stages and 8,000 kilometres by a mere two seconds! That’s the craziness of the Dakar.

Peterhansel and navigator Michaël Metge stopped the clock 32 seconds behind Baciuška to finish P2. Even though the pair were forced to retire from Stage 8 on Monday owing to a snapped alternator belt, they still beat three other Stock class competitors to finish fourth on the combined leaderboard. That was helped by victory on Stages 3, 4 and 7.

At the end of his 36^th Dakar, the 14-time event winner said: “It was a nice adventure. A little bit different in the Stock class compared to what I know in the past [on motorbikes and in the T1+ category for bespoke-built prototype cars], but it was super nice to be in this team. A nice atmosphere, a super team spirit. 

“At the end, for me, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster – up and down. But I will keep a lot of good memories. We are super happy because the main target was to try to win the category for Defender. Rokas did it, Sara second. For us, we are a little bit behind but it’s a really good team result. I’m really happy.”

Price was only another 30 behind Peterhansel on the day. Underlined by a hat-trick of stage wins, she and co-driver Sean Berriman sealed second overall. The X-Games medallist added: “It was just incredible! The final stage, we just had to roll to get to the finish line as a team together. To see the whole Defender team sitting there and the excitement, the emotions – this is what it’s all about. This is what it means. To get this team to the finish line 1-2 is just incredible.”

After all the trials and tribulations of the Dakar, surely it’s finally time for the crew members to relax? Well, sort of. While they’ve more than earned a nice long break at the end of this toughest of challenges, Defender is far from being finished with the mud plugging and dune jumping. It’s signed up for the rest of the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship as part of a three-year programme. So, there’s plenty more history still to be written.

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