BP Ultimate Rally‑Raid Portugal : Defender Dakar D7X-R Vehicles Powers Team To 1st, 2nd And 3rd

2026 BP Ultimate Rally‑Raid Portugal : Defender Dakar D7X-R vehicles powers Team to 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

The three Defender Dakar D7X‑Rs covered a combined total of 6,600km (4,101 miles) after five days of racing.

Defender Rally team finished first, second and third in the ‘Stock’ class for production‑based cars at the 2026 bp Ultimate Rally‑Raid Portugal, showcasing the impressive pace of the D7X‑R vehicles and the skill of drivers and co‑drivers.

Defender driver and co-driver
Stéphane Peterhansel and Mika Metge emerged first with an overall time of 11:57:33 while fellow teammates Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal, and Sara Price and Sean Berriman finished in second (12:00:02) and third (13:09:58) respectively.

The three Defender Octa-based Defender Dakar D7X‑Rs covered a combined total of 6,600km (4101.05 miles) after five days of racing in highly‑variable conditions including mud, water, trees and tight tracks across routes traversing Portugal and Spain.

The Defender Rally’s race car, the Defender Dakar D7X‑R, is based on the production Defender OCTA – the most capable Defender. It uses the same powerful 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 powertrain as well as the tough core Defender architecture.

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“Portugal offers a terrain like no other in the W2RC, consisting of tight tracks, fast routes, and a plethora of difficult terrain. The performance of the Defender Dakar D7X‑Rs in said conditions goes to show the impeccable engineering, versatility and durability of Defender, and to be so close to the pace of cars in the Ultimate class exemplifies it perfectly,” said Ian James, Team Principal of Defender Rally.

Unlike the base Defender OCTA, the Defender Dakar D7X‑R features a range of modifications designed for the extreme challenge, including a bespoke 550‑litre fuel tank for the lengthy off‑road stages and rides on a 35‑inch tyre package to cope with the demands of the desert.

Victory at the 2026 bp Ultimate Rally‑Raid Portugal comes two months after the Defender Rally team finished first, second and fourth in the 2026 Dakar Rally, during the brand’s debut entry to the world’s most extreme off‑road event in Saudi Arabia.

Then, the team completed the rigorous two-week event with Defender OCTA-based Defender Dakar D7X-Rs, with the three vehicles racking up a combined total of 24,000-km (15,000-mile) traversing the Saudi Arabian desert.

• See Also : 2026 Dakar Rally : Defender Dakar D7X-R Vehicles Powers Team To 1st, 2nd And 4th In the ‘Stock’ Class