The long awaited Land Rover Defender Dakar D7X-R will get its first taste of racing at the Dubai International Baja on November 20–23. Rokas Baciuška and Stéphane Peterhansel will each pilot a Defender with Oriol Vidal and Michaël Metge as navigators, respectively.

Defender Rally, as the team is officially called, had been in development since last November. Baciuška and Peterhansel will run the full 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship while Sara Price is onboard for the Dakar Rally.

The D7X-R, based on the Defender OCTA and compliant with the new FIA Stock regulations, underwent desert testing in Erfoud in September. It was overseen by new team principal Ian James, the former head of McLaren’s Formula E and Extreme E divisions.

Neither Peterhansel nor Baciuška have raced the Dubai International Baja, though they’re far from strangers to the Emirates. Both previously won the W2RC’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the former the overall and the latter his class.

While the Rallye du Maroc is often used as a dress rehearsal for those going to Dakar, the Dubai Baja serves a similar purpose in a country closer to Dakar host country Saudi Arabia. It is also shorter than the RdM with two days of racing compared to Morocco’s six, while the closer timeframe to Dakar might be advantageous for teams to stay sharp.

Dubai is the last round of the FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups. The two Land Rovers are among six entries in the Stock class for the finale.

Featured image credit: Land Rover