Back in the January of 2025, Land Rover made the announcement that it was going to enter a works team in the 2026 Dakar rally as part of a three-year commitment to the FIA world Rally Raid Championship (W2RC). Taking the recently launched Defender Octa as its start point, the Defender would be entered into the Stock Cateogory, previously called the T2. There would be a two-vehicle team tackling the five rounds of the W2RC, with a third vehicle entering the premier event, the Dakar. As part of the sponsorship agreement, Defenders would also be supplied to the organisers who support and recce the events.

With only 12 months before the start of the Defenders campaign, there was a huge task ahead of the team. The regular Defender is based on the D7X platform, which features a lightweight, but stiff, monocoque chassis and fully independent suspension. This was the basis of the Rally Raid Defender, whose construction was given the moniker of D7X-R. With a 4.4 litre Twin Turbo V8 up front, the D7X-R would certainly have the power required.

For the Recce support, Land Rover developed a Defender to suit the task in hand. Unlike the D7X-R which started life as an OCTA, the Recce Defenders would all be based on a P300 Defender 110. Inside the Defender would be seating for three, all with 4-point harnesses and a full roll cage to safely cocoon the occupants. Additional water supplies and a fridge were also fitted to add a degree of comfort. Engine wise, they had a standard four-cylinder petrol turbo, but with upgraded cooling and a cyclonic air pre-filter to help the air it breaths remain pure in the dusty conditions. Kit wise, as you would expect, spares, tools and recovery kit all featured as did additional fuel tanks to give an extended range.

Above – Never mind the D7X-R, the modified Recce vehicles were quite tasty too!

In May, the first two drivers were announced. Dakar veteran Stephane Peterhansel has competed in the Dakar 35 times and had the experience the fledgling team would need. Joining Stephane would be Rokas Baciuska, an up and coming 25-year-old. Shortly after this announcement, the third driver was announced. Sara Price, from California, had already tasted success in the 2024 Dakar, and had experience with Trophy trucks and the all-electric Extreme E rally championship.

Initial testing took place in Morocco and the results were good. The publics first view of the D7X-R was at the Goodwood festival of speed, which also showed off Castrol as being the Official Fluids Partner for the W2RC Dakar entry. Testing continued, again in Morocco just as the Team Principle was announced. Ian James who came from McLaren took the reins as JLR Motorsport’s Managing Director. The focus of these tests was reliability as the team added mile after mile of gruelling terrain beneath the wheels.

Like all Defenders, the D7X-R starts out life on the production lines at Nitra. Once this stage of its assembly is complete it is shipped off to the UK where the Defender Rally team complete the build. Due to the stock regulations, the OCTA’s 4.4 litre twin turbo V8 has to remain standard but will run on advanced sustainable fuel. Due to the class regulations, the air intakes will be restricted to limit power. Unlike other motorsport regulations, the stock category doesn’t impose a power limit. Instead, air restrictors are used to manage the power output, these restrictors are either 32mm or 34mm depending upon the displacement of the engine. The transmission and drive line also remain but has a lower final drive due in part to the larger tyres, but also to suit the needs of a vehicle in Rally conditions.

Above – Other than a wider and taller stance, the D7X-R looked just like a regular Defender. Below – With three spare tyres carried inside, there is no need for a rear mounted spare.

Braking is bespoken to the D7X-R, with vented discs mated to huge six pot calipers at the front and four pot at the rear.  When the OCTA was introduced, it was fitted with a sophisticated 6D dynamic system, however for the D7X-R this has had to be modified.  With a wide track (an additional 60 mm) and taller stance than the OCTA (which in turn is wider and taller than a non-OCTA Defender) the suspension has been modified to cope with the consistent hammering it will endure in race conditions, with Bilstein proving the shock absorbers after joining the team as Official Shock Absorber Partner. At the front there are single coil overs, where as the rear there is a twin set up to help manage the weight of the 550-litre fuel tank, needed to give the D7X-R the range it needs in competition.

One interesting feature is that the D7X-R is fitted with a “Flight Mode”. This links to the Rally derived ECU and alters the Torque to the wheels when airborne, to aid landing and to help prevent additional shocks to the driveline when landing.

Subtle modifications to the body work allow for the fitting of the 35-inch tyres and also help improved both the approach and departure angles. The cooling has also been improved by having a larger opening to help improve the air flow to a large radiator. To aid the air flow, and to provide cooling in lower speed terrain, an additional 4 electric fans have been added. Safety comes in the shape of a full FIA specification roll cage and additional underfloor protection, along with the regulation 6-point harnesses. During the race the vehicles will carry important spare parts, three tyres, tool kit and an air compressor.

Above – Flight mode about to be tested!

On the 3^rd January 2026, the Saudi Arabian city of Yanbu was buzzing as it hosted the launch of the 2026 Dakar Rally. With only one rest day between now and the finish on the 17^{th of} January, the three Defender D7X-R’s would be covering over 5,000 kms of difficult terrain at the fastest pace possible.

Once the flag dropped, the Defenders were on maximum attack, with one of the team taking a class win on every stage, many stages were completed with a prestigious 123 result. Come stage 6, the team were top of the class rankings, an amazing result for a new vehicle on its debut rally. Stage six was a 920 km run, which was won by Sara Price in a little over 4 ½ hours, also saw the other two Defenders come in in second and third.

Come the 17^{th of} January, the Defenders were still topping the stock category leader board. Overall victory went to Rokas Baciuska and his co-driver Oriol Vidal with a time of just over 58 hours. Second place went to Sara Price and Sean Berriam with Stephane Peterhansel and his co-driver Mika Metge taking four place. Just over a year from the team being announced they had a class victory in, what is the toughest race in the world. An amazing result indeed. But don’t forget, this is a race series, not just a one-off event. In two months’, time, two of the Defenders will be in Portugal for the second round and after the Dakar results, confidence must be high.

Above – To the victors go the spoils! Defenders taking First and Second in the Stock Class.