There aren't many racing teams that can say they showed up to one of the planet's toughest competitions and walked away with a victory on their first try. Land Rover just did exactly that, and they came pretty close to taking all three spots on the winner's podium.
The champagne must have been flowing freely at Land Rover headquarters after their debut at the 2026 Dakar Rally. All three teams they entered into the Stock class finished in the top four positions, with two of them claiming first and second place. That's the kind of result most manufacturers only dream about, especially when it's their first time competing.
Image credit: Land Rover
Land Rover brought their Defender D7X-R to the Saudi Arabian desert for this year's Dakar Rally. The vehicle competed in the Stock class, which means it couldn't stray too far from what someone could actually buy off a showroom floor. The D7X-R uses the same basic body architecture, transmission, driveline, and engine that comes in the regular Defender Octa that anyone with enough money can purchase and drive on public roads.
The three teams Land Rover fielded were made up of driver-navigator pairs: Stephane Peterhansel and Mika Metge, Rokas Baciuska and Oriol Vidal, plus Sara Price and Sean Berriman. Each team had to push through two weeks of brutal desert racing conditions, covering 3,100 miles across Saudi Arabia. Every single one of them made it to the finish line at the front of the pack.
Image credit: Land Rover
Rokas Baciuska and Oriol Vidal took home the win in the Stock class with an overall time of 58 hours, 9 minutes, and 45 seconds. Sara Price and Sean Berriman grabbed second place, while Stephane Peterhansel and Mika Metge came in fourth. The only thing preventing a complete Land Rover sweep was a Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body team driven by Ronald Basso and Julien Menard, who managed to slip into third place.
The dominance didn't stop at the final results. Throughout the competition's 13 stages, the three Defender teams ended up in the top three positions a total of 10 times. Together, they racked up a combined 15,000 miles of travel through the harsh Saudi Arabian desert. And this is just the beginning for these teams. They're planning to compete in all the remaining races on this year's World Rally-Raid Championship.
Image credit: Land Rover
While nobody can discount the skill of the drivers and navigators, the vehicle itself played a massive role in this success story. The D7X-R represents the most capable production-based Defender ever built. Even though it had to stay mostly stock for the class regulations, Land Rover still managed to squeeze in plenty of important modifications.
Under the hood sits the same 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine found in the Defender Octa, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Both received minor upgrades specifically designed to help them survive the extreme conditions of desert racing.
Image credit: Land Rover
The engine got tweaked to run on sustainable fuel. Its maximum output of 626 horsepower got capped using an air-intake restrictor to meet regulations. Land Rover threw out the standard three-radiator cooling setup and replaced it with a single large radiator, adding four 12-volt fans to handle the extreme heat. The transmission received modifications for a lower final drive ratio, which maximizes torque at low speeds—crucial for crawling through tough desert terrain.
The suspension system borrowed from the Octa got a significant upgrade. Engineers installed a new damper assembly with a single coil-over at the front and Bilstein parallel twin dampers at the rear. The wheels wear massive 35-inch tires that can handle whatever the desert throws at them.
One of the most critical modifications was the fuel tank. Land Rover installed a much larger tank at the rear of the vehicle that holds 145 gallons, giving the D7X-R a range of about 500 miles. That's roughly the distance of a challenging Dakar stage, meaning teams could complete entire stages without refueling.
Image credit: Land Rover
The engineers also added something called Flight Mode, which is about as cool as it sounds. This system automatically adjusts torque delivery to position the vehicle for smooth landings after all four wheels leave the ground—something that happens quite a bit during desert racing.
From the outside, the D7X-R might look similar to the Octa, but there are noticeable differences. The race version sits on a wider track, increased by 60 millimeters. The ride height is greater than the standard model, and the reshaped front end provides better approach and departure angles for tackling steep obstacles and dunes.
Inside, the changes are even more dramatic. Each of the three racing Defenders got a roll cage for safety, an FIA-regulated navigation system, and a configurable motorsport dashboard. The rear seats got yanked out to make room for essential racing gear: 2 gallons of water, three spare wheels, a tool kit, compressed air, critical spare parts, and a pair of hydraulic jacks. These aren't luxury vehicles anymore—they're purpose-built racing machines.
Land Rover will probably look to capitalize on this stunning debut success somehow. A special edition model celebrating the Dakar victory seems likely, though nothing has been announced yet.
The teams aren't taking any time off to celebrate. The D7X-R will be back in action at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, scheduled to run from March 17 through March 22. Anyone interested in following the team's progress will have another chance to see these modified Defenders prove themselves on a different kind of terrain.
For those who can't make it to Portugal, there's another way to experience the D7X-R. Land Rover has made the vehicle available in two popular video games—Fortnite and Rocket League. It's not quite the same as competing in the actual Dakar Rally, but it gives people a chance to get behind the wheel virtually.
This debut performance at the Dakar Rally represents a major achievement for Land Rover. The competition is widely considered the most extreme off-road race in the world, pushing both vehicles and drivers to their absolute limits. Teams face scorching heat, treacherous sand dunes, rocky terrain, and navigation challenges that can make or break a race. The fact that Land Rover brought three teams and had all of them finish in the top four positions speaks volumes about both the capability of the Defender platform and the preparation that went into this campaign.
The Stock class designation is particularly significant because it proves the core Defender design is genuinely capable right out of the factory. While the D7X-R received important modifications for safety and durability, the fundamental components remain the same as what someone could drive off a dealer lot. That's a powerful marketing message—this isn't some stripped-down, rebuilt race car that bears little resemblance to the production model. The bones of the vehicle are the same ones that people use for their daily commutes and weekend adventures.
The sustainable fuel modification also shows Land Rover thinking about the future of motorsports. As environmental concerns continue to shape the automotive industry, proving that high-performance vehicles can run on alternative fuels becomes increasingly important. The Dakar Rally provided the perfect testing ground for this technology under the most demanding conditions imaginable.
The Flight Mode feature deserves special attention because it highlights the sophistication of modern off-road vehicles. The system had to be programmed to recognize when the vehicle was airborne, calculate the optimal torque distribution for landing, and make those adjustments automatically while the driver focused on what comes next. That kind of technology development in racing often finds its way into production vehicles down the line.
The decision to enter three teams rather than just one or two also paid dividends. It gave Land Rover multiple chances at success and allowed the teams to potentially work together during stages, sharing information and strategy. The fact that all three finished so close together in the standings suggests the vehicles performed consistently, which is just as important as raw speed in an endurance event like the Dakar Rally.
For the drivers and navigators, completing the Dakar Rally is a career highlight regardless of finishing position. Winning it on their first attempt with Land Rover puts them in an elite group. These teams will carry momentum and confidence into the remaining World Rally-Raid Championship events, where they'll face different terrain and challenges but with proven equipment underneath them.
The racing community will be watching closely to see if Land Rover can maintain this level of performance throughout the season. One strong result could be luck, but consistent success across multiple events proves genuine capability. The BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal will provide the first indication of whether the Dakar victory was a fluke or the start of something bigger for Land Rover's racing program.
