Three Rallies, Three Class Victories: Defender Rally and BILSTEIN Head for the Sahara

Defender Rally and BILSTEIN have made an impressive start to the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), securing three consecutive victories in the Stock category across the opening three rounds of the season.

Following success at the legendary Dakar Rally, bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal and the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina, the partnership now faces another demanding challenge: the Rallye du Maroc, taking place from 28 September to 3 October 2026.

With more than 2,500 kilometres of competition taking crews from Agadir towards the edge of the Sahara, Morocco will once again provide an extreme test for the Defender Dakar D7X-R and its specially developed BILSTEIN Black Hawk suspension technology.

Three Rounds, Three Stock Class Wins

The 2026 season marks a new chapter in BILSTEIN's motorsport history, with the suspension manufacturer joining Defender Rally as its Official Shock Absorber Partner for the Dakar Rally and the complete FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.

The partnership builds upon the existing relationship between Defender and BILSTEIN as the two brands take their combined engineering expertise into one of the harshest environments in motorsport. BILSTEIN Off-Road

So far, the results have demonstrated the capabilities of the package. The three Defender Dakar D7X-R competition vehicles have taken the top three positions in the Stock category at each of the first three rounds:

• Dakar Rally – Saudi Arabia
• bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal
• Desafío Ruta 40 – Argentina

Now attention turns to North Africa and the fourth round of the championship.

Next Stop: Rallye du Maroc

Running from 28 September to 3 October 2026, the Rallye du Maroc presents a very different set of challenges.

The event covers a total of 2,524 kilometres, including approximately 1,575 kilometres against the clock, as competitors travel from Agadir towards the Sahara.

Sand dunes, gravel, rocks and fast tracks mean the surface can change dramatically throughout a single stage. For the drivers, vehicles and suspension systems, that requires a combination of durability, control and adaptability.

BILSTEIN describes the five-round W2RC as a proving ground involving deserts, rock fields and other extreme terrain, providing an environment in which its shock absorber technology can be developed and tested under demanding conditions. BILSTEIN Off-Road

Meet the Defender Dakar D7X-R

At the centre of Defender Rally's 2026 campaign is the Defender Dakar D7X-R.

The rally-raid vehicle is based on the Defender OCTA platform and retains production-based elements including its D7x aluminium monocoque architecture, twin-turbo V8 engine, transmission and drivetrain.

Those foundations are combined with motorsport-specific modifications to prepare the D7X-R for competition in the W2RC's Stock category. BILSTEIN Off-Road

One of the most important components in that package is its suspension.

And that is where BILSTEIN comes in.

BILSTEIN Black Hawk Suspension Built for Extreme Conditions

The Defender Dakar D7X-R uses BILSTEIN Black Hawk shock absorber technology, engineered specifically to provide control, stability and durability across the rapidly changing terrain encountered in rally-raid competition. BILSTEIN Off-Road

Unlike a conventional road vehicle, a W2RC competition car must cope with huge suspension movements and sustained punishment over long distances.

BILSTEIN's Black Hawk system uses its patented Zone Control CR architecture with a triple-piston design, allowing the damping characteristics to be controlled throughout the suspension's range of movement.

The system also incorporates Jounce and Rebound Cut-Off systems, designed to manage severe bottom-out and top-out events when the vehicle encounters large impacts or significant suspension extension.

A Dual Speed Compression Adjuster provides separate high- and low-speed compression tuning, allowing the suspension to be configured for the varying surfaces encountered during competition. BILSTEIN Off-Road

Managing Heat and Heavy Loads

Controlling the vehicle is only part of the challenge.

Rally-raid shock absorbers must continue performing consistently despite repeated high-energy impacts and the heat generated during long competitive stages.

BILSTEIN Black Hawk therefore incorporates a high-capacity external reservoir to support thermal management and help maintain suspension performance during sustained heavy loads. BILSTEIN Off-Road

The suspension also has to deal with considerable changes in vehicle mass. BILSTEIN highlights the D7X-R's 550-litre fuel system as one example of the additional and constantly changing load that its Black Hawk system must control during competition. BILSTEIN Off-Road

It makes events such as the Rallye du Maroc an exceptionally demanding real-world test of the technology.

A World-Class Driver Line-Up

Three Defender crews are competing in the championship, bringing together extensive rally-raid experience.

The driver line-up consists of Sara Price, Stéphane Peterhansel and Rokas Baciuška, partnered respectively by co-drivers Sean Berriman, Mika Metge and Oriol Vidal. BILSTEIN Off-Road

Peterhansel brings extraordinary Dakar experience to the programme, having won the event 14 times across motorcycle and car categories. Price made history during her 2024 Dakar debut by becoming the first American woman to win a Dakar stage, while Baciuška entered the Defender programme with extensive W2RC experience and championship success in multiple categories. BILSTEIN Off-Road

That combination of experienced crews and purpose-built machinery has already delivered strong results during Defender Rally's inaugural W2RC campaign.

Tested in Competition, Developed for the Road

For BILSTEIN, involvement in W2RC goes beyond chasing results.

Motorsport provides an extreme development environment in which components are subjected to forces, temperatures and terrain that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

The Dakar Rally alone featured roughly 5,000 kilometres of timed stages, with competitors tackling deserts, rock fields and extreme temperatures. BILSTEIN says the knowledge gained under these conditions feeds into the development of future suspension technology. BILSTEIN Off-Road

It's a familiar philosophy for the German suspension specialist: competition provides an opportunity to test technology at its limits before that experience contributes towards future OE and aftermarket solutions.

The 2026 W2RC Journey Continues

The Rallye du Maroc is round four of the five-event 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.

Following Morocco, the championship heads to the United Arab Emirates for its final round, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge from 22–27 November 2026. BILSTEIN Off-Road

For Defender Rally and BILSTEIN, however, the immediate focus is firmly on Morocco.

Three rounds have produced three Stock class victories. Now the combination of the Defender Dakar D7X-R and BILSTEIN Black Hawk suspension faces another demanding test across the sand, gravel and rocks of North Africa.

As the championship moves towards the Sahara, it provides another opportunity for BILSTEIN to demonstrate what its suspension technology can achieve when conditions become truly extreme.