Stéphane Peterhansel has much to reminisce about when it comes to racing in Argentina. The Dakar Rally ran through the country every year save for 2019 during its decade-long South American stint, during which Peterhansel scored 10.5 stage wins in Argentina (Stage 7 of 2013 crossed into Chile) to go with his four overall wins.

He can add another fond memory in the form of the Desafío Ruta 40. Although he had never run the DR 40 before, he kept a good gap over his teammates to claim the Stock class for the second straight race. Unlike in Portugal, he won’t be getting fined this time either.

Peterhansel set the tone by winning Stage 1. Although he finished second behind Rokas Baciuška the next day, the margin between them in the overall was only 32 seconds. Baciuška then received 12 minutes of speeding penalties for Stage 3, including a pair of five-minute penalties for going nearly twice the speed limit (73 km/h in a 30 zone, then 95 in a 50) that cost him the win and sank him four minutes back of Peterhansel.

As Peterhansel regained the lead, Stage 3 winner Sara Price was right behind him by just 40 seconds going into the penultimate day. Unfortunately for Price, she rolled in Stage 4.

With Baciuška and Price now over 11 and 53 minutes behind him, Peterhansel had a clean final day to clinch the win.

“We had nice competition in the beginning, with the three Defenders together, competing with Rokas and with Sara, but overall, we won the race by nine minutes,” Peterhansel stated. “It’s a really good result. I’m really happy also with the team and the progress we made on the car at this race, we made improvements and it was really fun to drive.

“Super good memories here and also nice to be back with a lot of people. You can see there are a lot of fans in Argentina, and it’s a nice feeling.”

Baciuška, three weeks removed from making his rallycross return, remains the Stock points leader but has Peterhansel closing in fast. He holds a 29-point advantage over Peterhansel with 199 to his 170, while Price sits third with 164.

“In the middle, I felt a little unwell but it is what it is and overall, it was a great rally,” Baciuška commented. “We finished in second and had some penalty points for speeding, but the car performed well. Throughout the race, the mechanics and the team did a really good job and we’ve finished with the car in good shape.”

The rollover threw a wrench into Price’s race, which was certainly a shame as she felt things were going well prior.

Argentina marked the return of Saydiie Gray as her navigator, who previously worked with her at the 2023 Mexican 1000 and was contesting the latest edition earlier this month with Tricia Reina; Gray’s father Jeremy was Price’s co-driver at the 2023 Sonora Rally and for much of the 2024 W2RC season. The pairing was the first all-woman duo to run the DR 40.

“It was tougher than I expected with a lot of treacherous terrain, but we made it,” said Price. “We didn’t know what racing in Argentina in rally raid would be like, so it was a really cool experience. Saydiie and I both had a blast and we were put through it all. We had good days and bad days. In Stage 5, we were stuck in the dust for the first part, then in the second half we made up some time. Overall, it was a great experience, we’re super grateful to be here and I can’t wait to keep getting better and better.”

Like in Portugal, Defender Rally was the lone team in Stock. Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body, the only other outfit to show up in the class in 2026 so far, was only at Dakar and will unlikely return until their usual stop at the Rallye du Maroc. While its drivers Akira Miura—who now races in Ultimate—and Ronald Basso are earning Stock points, TLC is also not signed up for the manufacturer’s championship.

While the FIA has revamped the Stock regulations to encourage manufacturers, it’s obvious the process will take some time to draw more interest. Artur Ardavichus, who won the FIA Cross-Country Rallies World Cup for such vehicles in 2008, commented earlier in May that “back then, the battle in the T2 category was intense: at least five crews were fighting for victory at every event. Modern T2 has seen some new energy with the arrival of the Defenders, but overall, the future of the category still feels uncertain.”

Until more competition shows up, the 2026 season is a time for Ian James and his crew to gauge the D7X‑R’s capabilities while letting their drivers duke it out for their respective title. Like in Portugal, the team principal focused on comparing the car’s pace to the Ultimate category. The Defender trio finished 17th through 19th in the FIA overall, sandwiching them between the Toyota Hilux of Kevin Benavides and Ford Raptor of Kees Koolen.

“Argentina was undoubtedly a tough rally, but the Defender Dakar D7X‑R did us proud and showcased what it’s truly capable of,” James remarked. “All three Defender Rally crews drove superbly and provided fans with an awesome race. Huge congratulations to Stéphane and Mika for placing first, their second victory in this year’s championship.

“This rally put our cars to the test, with high‑altitudes, extensive mountain sections and broken terrain. The fact that the Defender Dakar D7X‑R once again performed in line with the speed of cars in the T1+ Ultimate category showcases the impressive engineering and capability of Defender. As always, the mechanics and engineers have given their all to ensure the cars are stage‑ready each day, and the results show what an exemplary job they have done. We’re excited to head to the next challenge and race in Morocco later this year.

Results

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Total Time	Margin
1	17	500	Stéphane Peterhansel	Michaël Metge	Defender Rally	18:11:12	Leader
2	18	502	Rokas Baciuška	Oriol Vidal	Defender Rally	18:20:30	+ 9:18
3	19	504	Sara Price	Saydiie Gray	Defender Rally	19:06:04	+ 54:52

Stage winners

Stage	Overall	Driver	Total Time
Stage 1	22	Rokas Baciuška	2:53:05
Stage 2	24	Stéphane Peterhansel	4:03:07
Stage 3	26	Rokas Baciuška	1:58:49
Stage 4	20	Sara Price	4:58:41
Stage 5	22	Stéphane Peterhansel	4:10:01

Featured image credit: Matteo Gebbia / Edophoto / DPPI / ASO