• Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal are crowned FIA Rally-Raid Stock Drivers’ and Co-Drivers' Champions respectively, with 233 points each, in the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC)
• Defender Rally also secured the 2026 FIA Rally-Raid Stock Manufacturers' Championship title, following a win in each W2RC race entered
• Rallye du Maroc marks the end of Defender Rally’s 2026 rally-raid season, with Stéphane Peterhansel and Mika Metge also clinching the win in this rally
  
• Defender Rally successfully completed Rallye du Maroc, showcasing the robustness of the Defender Dakar D7X-R, derived from the production Defender OCTA

Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Sunday 4 October 2026: Today, Defender Rally crew Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal (#502) have been crowned FIA Rally-Raid Stock Drivers' and Co-Drivers' Champions respectively in the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, with Defender Rally also taking the Stock Manufacturers' Champion title.

At Rallye du Maroc, the final race of Defender Rally's debut season, Stéphane Peterhansel and Mika Metge (#500) placed first in the Stock class with an overall time of 20:53:52. In second, 56 minutes slower, was Yasir Seaidan and Jean-Michel Polato (#505) of Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body, followed by Baciuška and Vidal (#502). Sara Price and Sean Berriman (#504) placed fourth. The endurance of both crews and cars was put to the test in Morocco, with long stages covering a total of 2,458km and consisting of rocky tracks, fast sand sections and Saharan dunes, providing a fitting, iconic conclusion to Defenders' debut W2RC campaign.

Overall, Baciuška and navigator Vidal secured the Stock Drivers' and Co-Drivers' Championship win with 233 points each, gained from the duo’s remarkable win of the 2026 Dakar Rally in January, scoring 50 points, and later placing second in the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal and Desafío Ruta 40, Argentina, plus third in this weeks’ Rallye du Maroc. For Baciuška and Vidal, the championship title is the culmination of consistency and tactical driving, with precise navigation from Vidal playing a critical role throughout. This marks Baciuška's fourth Rally-Raid Championship title, having achieved victory in SSV in 2022 and 2023, and Challenger in 2024.

Rokas Baciuška, Defender Rally driver, said: "It's amazing to be Stock Champions. It was long season. Now, I’m a four-time Rally-Raid champion in different categories, two times in SSV, one time in Challenger and this year now for Stock. I’ve won at Dakar for different categories too. To be the winner, especially in Stock for the first year for Defender, it’s really amazing. Thanks to all the team who support us all season. It’s not just about the job behind the wheel, it’s everyone behind the car, the mechanics and all the engineers, the team did a lot of important work, and we wouldn’t be able to achieve what we have without them. I'm super happy, another title to add to the list!"

Oriol Vidal, Defender Rally co-driver, said: “It has been a really good season. We couldn’t ask for more. We won the Dakar Rally and we won the World Rally-Raid Championship in Stock. From Stage 1 of the Dakar Rally, we started managing and maintaining, during Dakar and after Dakar. We didn’t go for the push too much, we wanted to stay steady and try our best. We are very happy, and it's a top three in the championship for Defender. The cars have been amazing, we've been through a lot of challenges, and now we're really happy about how everything went and we can't wait for what's next."

In second place of the Championship, Peterhansel and Metge completed the season with 220 points respectively. ‘Mr Dakar’, Stéphane Peterhansel, won Rounds 2-4 of the W2RC, but a fourth-place finish at the Dakar Rally meant they fell short of points for the championship win. 

Price and Berriman finished the W2RC in third position. Price scored 194 points in the 2026 W2RC, and Berriman 157, having not competed at Desafío Ruta 40, Argentina, in May.

Stéphane Peterhansel, Defender Rally driver, said: “This year has given us really demanding races, especially Morocco, which was demanding for the car, demanding for the people, and the drivers. But it was also a really interesting test, to see the limit of the car in hot conditions. The final result is really good, we won Rallye du Maroc overall.
This season, we were not super lucky at the Dakar Rally, but after that, we won the three races, Portugal, Argentina, and Morocco, so it meant that we had good speed. I have a good relationship with Mika, and we are really happy with our crew of mechanics and engineers. Every morning they gave us a good car, ready to start, ready to fight for the victory each stage. The spirit inside the team is really good too. We’ve enjoyed it a lot this full season. Except maybe Dakar, we expected a little more there, but this is motorsport, and we know that anything can happen. The season has been super enjoyable and again, the team spirit is amazing."

Sara Price, Defender Rally driver, said: "It has been absolutely amazing to be a part of Defender Rally this year. 
It's kind of crazy that, you know, it's already been a year, it’s gone so fast. This team is absolutely amazing. 
The people in the team make it a family. And the D7X-R, I'm just genuinely in love with it, it is my dream car. So, the fact that I get to race it through these environments and all around the world, is a dream come true, and can't wait for what the future has in store for me."

These results mean that Defender Rally has also secured the W2RC Stock Manufacturers' Championship with 507 points. Defender Rally won the Stock class at the iconic 2026 Dakar Rally, bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina and now at Rallye du Maroc. The 2026 campaign marks the first year of Defender Rally's three-year W2RC programme, with the team entering the Stock class to demonstrate the endurance, capability and durability of Defender in the world's most challenging off-road terrain.

At the heart of the campaign has been the Defender D7X-R, Defender Rally's competition car derived from the most powerful production Defender, OCTA. Defender D7X-R has been modified to meet the unique, brutal demands of W2RC terrain, adhering to the updated FIA Stock class regulations.

The Defender D7X-R combines the production vehicle's 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine and eight-speed automotive transmission with critical competition-specific development. The car features bespoke suspension engineered for off-road stages, increased ground clearance and wider track, together with enhanced cooling and underbody protection to withstand the prolonged demands of rally-raid. Its debut season has provided the ultimate proving ground for Defender’s capability and acted as an extensive test of what it can achieve, with the vehicle tackling long competitive stages and aggressive, varied terrain.

Ian James, Team Principal, Defender Rally, said: “That's a wrap on Rallye du Maroc and our debut season. It’s phenomenal to see all three cars and all three teams performing so well under some incredibly challenging conditions this week. 
Firstly, a congratulations goes to Toyota Land Cruiser’s Yasir Seaidan and Jean-Michel Polato for today's stage win. Ultimately, the event itself has been Stéphane and Mika’s, so huge congratulations to them both for a fearless performance to win this event.

“Of course, from a championship perspective, a huge congratulations to Rokas and Oriol for wrapping up the inaugural championship for Defender Rally and the D7X-R. It’s been an incredible year all round and I couldn't be proud of them, all of our crews, and of course, the team behind it all.

“Results like this don't just come from performance, they come from the camaraderie and the culture that you have within this team, and in that respect, this team is second to none. I hope they can now celebrate and celebrate hard. Believe me, we'll be back next year, making sure that we can fight for that championship, for a win at each event and who knows, maybe we can try for a clean sweep of wins across the board.”

Jérôme Roussel, FIA Cross-Country Category Manager, said: “2026 has been a remarkable year for the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, and it has been a pleasure to welcome Defender to the championship this year.

 “The team has delivered an outstanding debut season, performing strongly across very different conditions and terrain throughout the year.

“This is also a historic achievement, with the first FIA Rally-Raid Championship titles awarded for Stock Manufacturers, Drivers and Navigators. I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to the entire Defender team, and to Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal on a thoroughly deserved victory.”

The team's efforts have been supported throughout the 2026 season by Official Partners Castrol, YETI, Bilstein and Bell & Ross, along with official suppliers Shackleton and Alpinestars.  

Defender Rally will now focus attention on preparing for the 2027 World Rally-Raid Championship season, starting with the Dakar Rally on 1^st January 2027.