Dakar’s second stage ends in Defender podium clean sweep

Want to know why the Dakar Rally is such a rollercoaster for competitors? Look no further than Sara Price. The Defender driver won Stage 2 of the 2026 off-road enduro, pipping Rokas Baciuška and Stéphane Peterhansel for a team 1-2-3 in the Stock class as she immediately bounced back from a lengthy stoppage during the first stage. 

Hardly your average Monday morning commute, Stage 2 marked the Dakar convoy moving out of the starting Yanbu ‘bivouac’ base camp on the coast of the Red Sea and heading inland to AlUla. A 400-kilometre race against the clock opened with twisting canyon paths then shifted to the rocky tracks that climb the Hedjaz Mountains. Showing off the diversity of the landscape, next came the smaller matter of traversing an off-piste ravine, getting the hammer down across open sandy plains, before finishing with a ride over a series of dunes. All in a day’s work…

As intimidating as that route sounds (and definitely is in practice), Price knows this patch of Saudi Arabia well. The American won the equivalent stretch of the Dakar in the SSV buggy category in 2024 and again in 2025. That local knowledge when blinded by the dust of rivals went some way to helping her and co-driver Sean Berriman leave their Stage 1 blues behind to head Defender’s lockout of the top three.

Having won the Prologue, the duo’s Sunday running on Stage 1 was interrupted for two hours after they hit a rock to damage a rear arm. That’s something that can happen to any of the bespoke-built prototype vehicles competing for overall victory in the T1+ class. Let alone for those vying for Stock honours - where the cars are taken straight from the production line. In the case of the Defender Dakar D7X-R, that means a showroom-spec gearbox, drivelines, bodywork and chassis. Even the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 is lifted from the road-going Defender OCTA. 

Price’s recovery started immediately. She flew out of the blocks to lead after 70 kilometres. Just 5 seconds behind was Peterhansel. As a 14-time winner of the event to earn the nickname ‘Mr Dakar’, he’s used to a clear view ahead rather than starting the middle of the pack. Still, he nipped into first place at the 102-kilometre mark and continued to build a cushion of almost 1.5 mins until Price took back control. With Peterhansel losing time late on, not helped by picking up two punctures and the limited visibility, Baciuška and co-driver Oriol Vidal pounced for second as Price finished the course fastest in 4 hours 57 mins 33 seconds.

“Today’s stage was a tough one for sure,” reckoned Price. “It really tested the vehicle. It was very rough, very stony and a lot of dust. There was little to no visibility a lot of the time. That, mentally, is very tough on drivers. We just put our heads down and kept to it. All the way to the end, we pushed and we ended up with the win. I did not expect it at all. Even cooler, all three Defenders 1-2-3. Super cool to see the finish line and all of us within only two minutes.”

Persevering through a bit of nausea, Baciuška brought his Defender across the line just 82 seconds further back. To put it another way, the Lithuanian was on average just 0.2 seconds slower per kilometre. Crucially, thanks to his Stage 1 win, the 26-year-old holds the overall Stock lead by 11 and a half minutes over the Toyota Land Cruiser of Akira Miura. 

Baciuška’s verdict: “Today was quite a hard day. We had really a long way to go through the stones and then some sandy tracks. But no problems. The mechanics did a good job and the team got a 1-2-3 on Stage 2 – I think it’s amazing.”

Peterhansel and navigator Michaël Metge ended up only another 4 seconds behind to complete the Defender perfect score. More quick maths says that’s a tiny 0.01s split to Baciuška on each of the 400 kilometres. The most successful entrant in Dakar history sits fourth on the combined leaderboard ahead of Price.

“A nice stage but for the first time, we really started in the middle of the pack so a lot of dust,” said Peterhansel. “We overtook a few cars, a few cars overtook us [with the faster classes allowed to ask us to move over]. Usually for me, I always start in the front. But I’m very happy with the feeling of the car. We had two punctures, but when I saw how demanding the track is for the tyres, it’s really crazy where we pass through, so it’s acceptable. We are three cars close together and no problem in all three cars, so this is a good day.”

AlUla again provides the picturesque backdrop for Stage 3 on Tuesday. It’s a chance for the co-drivers to properly earn their crust. Tricky rock formations, open plains that lack obvious landmarks and plenty of misleading alternative tracks during the 422-kilometre timed course (plus 244-kilometre road section) means precise navigation and reading the roadbook will be a real challenge. Follow here for more updates. 

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