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All three Defender Dakar D7X-Rs crossed the finish line at the 2026 Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina. Stephane Peterhansel and Mika Metge secured victory in the Stock class with an overall time of 18:11:12. Rokas Baciuska and Oriol Vidal came in second at 18:20:30. Sara Price and Saydiie Gray took third in 19:06:04. Baciuska and Vidal won it in 2:53:05. Sara Price and Saydiie Gray became the first all-female crew to compete in the Desafio Ruta 40.
They also won a stage during the event. It was a clean sweep. All three Defender Dakar D7X-R race cars completed one of the toughest rally-raid events on the calendar. For a programme still building its rally-raid record, finishing one-two-three is about as good as it gets. The final stage was 340km. Peterhansel and Metge finished second on the stage. Price and Gray came third. A clean sweep on the last day to close out a clean sweep on the podium. The biggest story of the rally may not have been the overall result. It was also Gray’s first competitive outing with Defender Rally.
The Rallye du Maroc is scheduled to take place from September 28 to October 3, 2026.
Price said the terrain was tougher than expected throughout. Peterhansel described the final stage as especially demanding but was positive about the car and the team’s development through the rally. Baciuska had a harder week. He dealt with illness midway through the competition but credited the mechanics and support crew for keeping the car running strong. She added that the rally gave both her and Gray important learning and confidence going into the next events. Following the successful Argentina campaign, Defender Rally will now head to Morocco for the next round of the World Rally-Raid Championship.
The Desafio Ruta 40 covered 1,523km of timed stages. Besides, the three crews also placed 18th, 19th and 20th overall in the Car category. It is worth noting that the D7X-R competes in the Stock class for production-based vehicles. The cars ahead of them in the overall standings were running in the T1+ Ultimate category, which is an unrestricted class built for outright speed. The D7X-R is not a ground-up race car. It is based on the production Defender OCTA and competes in the Stock class for production-based vehicles. Engineers have modified it to meet FIA rally-raid regulations, but the core body architecture, transmission and driveline layout carry over from the road-going model. The changes include a wider track, revised suspension and enhanced cooling systems. The route started in San Juan, pushed into the Mendoza region, cut through sections of the Andes and came back to San Juan to finish. Drivers tackled dry riverbeds, high-altitude mountain sections and deep sand dunes throughout the event.
