Defender Dominates Halfway Point At Dakar Stock Class
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Defender Rally has reached the halfway mark of the 2026 Dakar Rally in what is, frankly, a rather impressive debut. Six stages are done and dusted, and the three-car squad has taken every single win in the Stock class so far. Not bad for a production-based contender turned into something of a sand-eating beast.
Three Crews, Six Wins
The entry runs three crews, and each crew has claimed two stage victories to this point. Today’s marathon sixth stage was the longest of the lot, a brutal 920 kilometres when you add the timed sections to the liaison miles. The American pairing took the stage with a time of 04:32:10, with the other two crews closing in at 04:34:49 and 04:35:00 respectively. It was dunes, dunes and then some more dunes, and the cars shrugged and pushed on.
Who’s Leading The Stock Class
At the halfway checkpoint the pairing from Lithuania and Spain top the Stock standings with an aggregate time of 29 hours, 12 minutes and 58 seconds. The French pairing sit just behind them, while the American crew currently holds fourth place overall. Seven stages remain and every hour, every dune and every soft patch of sand could change the picture.
The Car: Defender Dakar D7X-R
The cars are Defender Dakar D7X-Rs, derived from the production Defender OCTA. They keep the same D7x body architecture, transmission, driveline and the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, but have been fettled for competition with a wider track, higher ride height, revised suspension and improved cooling. In short, they look like a production Defender but behave like something that eats rally raids for breakfast.
Support, Digital Reach And Teamwork
The campaign is backed by a cadre of official partners including Castrol, YETI, Bilstein, Bell & Ross, Fortnite, Shackleton and Alpinestars. There is also a digital angle: a tie-up with Epic Games lets players drive the Defender Dakar D7X-R complete with authentic livery in Fortnite and Rocket League, which is useful if you want to know how it looks while staying firmly in your living room.
Voices From The Bivouac
The team’s head of technical integration summed it up as an exhilarating but very long haul, praising the round-the-clock work keeping the cars reliable and the focus on consistency to make it to the finish. One driver, making their first proper run in big dunes in the Defender, said they were surprised and delighted by how well the car handled the sand and that the win felt thoroughly deserved. Another described a day that began at dawn and ended late at night, noting the car climbed and crawled through sandfields with great appetite.
Seven stages remain in the 2026 Dakar Rally, which means there is still plenty of drama, strategy and mechanical endurance to come. The team has announced its intent to see all three cars and crews to the finish, and if the first half is anything to go by, they have every chance of doing just that.
Zachary Skinner is the editor of TechDrivePlay.com, where tech, cars and adventure share the fast lane.
A former snowboarding pro and programmer, he brings both creative flair and technical know-how to his reviews. From high-performance cars to clever gadgets, he explores how innovation shapes the way we move, connect and live.
