Rokas Baciuška wins opening 2026 Dakar Rally stage for Defender

Remember the name Rokas Baciuška. The Lithuanian driver overcame two punctures to win the opening stage of the 2026 Dakar Rally in the Stock class. The result gives Defender its first stage victory in Saudi Arabia, with the marque making its debut in the world’s toughest off-road event.

Followers of rally-raid will already be familiar with the 26-year-old’s ability. Although he is a fresh face, the Dakar’s demands are nothing new to him. After moving from karting into rallying, he is tackling the punishing enduro for the fourth time this year. His prior three appearances – all of which resulted in a podium finish – were in highly modified T4 and T3 buggies, before stepping up to Defender and the new-for-2026 Stock class.

After team-mates Sara Price and Stéphane Peterhansel, Baciuška posted the third-quickest class time in Saturday’s brief 23-kilometre Prologue. With the fast, bespoke prototype cars in the T1+ category set to battle for the overall victory, Baciuška started Stage 1 in 40th place as competitors departed the Yanbu ‘bivouac’, the Red Sea coastal base camp in the north-west.

Defender takes its first Dakar stage victory

Three checkpoints awaited on the 305-kilometre stage. Dakar would not be the rally-raid calendar’s most infamous event if its opening leg were straightforward. Accordingly, the route began on narrow, winding ground littered with sharp rocks ready to cut tyres, before opening into quicker sandy sections punctuated by dunes harsh enough to test the suspension.

Baciuška was at the wheel of his Defender Dakar D7X-R. As a Stock-class entrant, it retains the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 used by the production Defender OCTA. Its gearbox, drivelines, bodywork and chassis are also showroom specification. With co-driver Oriol Vidal alongside to relay the navigation, the pair fought through the dust and dealt with two punctures to control the class.

Completing the stage in just under 4 hours 5 mins, they led the Stock standings by a substantial 6 min 49 secs from Ronald Basso’s second-placed Toyota Land Cruiser.

The achievement added two new entries to Dakar history. Defender became a stage winner on its first official appearance, while Baciuška became the first World Rally-Raid Championship driver ever to secure a stage victory across the Stock, Ultimate, Challenger and SSV classes.

“This was a proper Dakar stage and a proper Dakar day,” said Baciuška. “It was not easy. It was a stony track and a few kilometres of dunes. But we finished P1 in this stage in our class, so let’s continue to work like that. Sometimes we will need to take it slow in the difficult terrain, but let’s see. The team, co-driver and driver together have to bring luck to the Dakar.”

Peterhansel and Price face Dakar setbacks

At more than double Baciuška’s age, 60-year-old Peterhansel was the next-highest-placed Defender in fourth. The 14-time event winner, known simply throughout rally-raid as ‘Mr Dakar’, drew on his considerable experience. When an unforeseen power-steering problem emerged, he endured an unexpected physical test to bring the car back intact. He and navigator Michaël Metge now sit roughly 49 minutes behind their team-mates.

Peterhansel explained: “Our steering issues began after 50 kilometres. Our massive wheels, combined with the trial-like terrain in certain sections, made it almost impossible to turn the steering wheel. I pushed as hard as I could. My shoulders are burning.”

Price, winner of the Prologue, also experienced Dakar at its harshest. As the American and co-driver Sean Berriman neared the 98-kilometre point, the terrain’s severity became clear when they struck a rock and broke a rear suspension arm. They were forced to wait for a support truck to arrive with a replacement component. Despite making a further repair, the duo eventually surrendered more than two hours.

Ian James, Team Principal of Defender Rally, said: “Dakar is coined as the ‘Everest of motorsport’, and today has been our first taste of exactly what that means. All three of our driver pairings got off to a strong start, with Rokas and Oriol powering on to take a debut stage victory – a huge milestone for Defender Rally and an achievement to be proud of. It was a challenging day for Stéphane and Mika, and for Sara and Sean, but the team has understood the issues and will put measures in place to mitigate the risk going forward. That being said, we know that tomorrow’s stage will be just as arduous.”

A 400-kilometre route to AlUla awaits

With only a tiny portion of the 8,000-kilometre distance covered in the 2026 Dakar, the competitors now face a new day, week, stage and setting. An early start awaits on Monday as the convoy travels inland from Yanbu to ancient AlUla. Before reaching it, however, the crews must tackle a 400-kilometre timed test featuring fast, open tracks and unforgiving mountain passes strewn with rocks. Stay tuned for more updates.

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