Defender Rally & BILSTEIN Dominate Portugal Rally-Raid with 1-2-3 Finish

March 25, 2026 Lucas Fernandez – World Editor World

Essen/Ennepetal, Germany – Defender Rally and BILSTEIN are continuing their winning streak in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), following a dominant performance at the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. The team secured a one-two-three finish in the production-based Stock class, with Stéphane Peterhansel and co-driver Mika Metge taking first place.

The bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, held across challenging terrain in Portugal and Spain, is known as one of the most demanding events in the W2RC. Participants faced a grueling course featuring mud, water crossings, narrow sections, and constantly changing terrain, testing both vehicles and teams to their limits.

Peterhansel and Metge completed the rally in a time of 11:57:33, securing the victory. Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal finished closely behind in second place with a time of 12:00:02, while Sara Price and Sean Berriman rounded out the podium with a third-place finish in 13:09:58.

The success builds on the team’s earlier victory at the 2026 Dakar Rally, where they also won the Stock class. According to Defender Rally Team Principal Ian James, the performance in Portugal demonstrates the “impeccable engineering, versatility and durability of Defender.”

BILSTEIN’s BLACK HAWK high-performance dampers played a crucial role in the team’s success, providing consistent performance over the 6,600-kilometer course. The shock absorbers are based on proven BILSTEIN Black Hawk technology, described as one of the most technically advanced suspension solutions available.

The Defender Dakar D7X-R vehicles are based on the production Defender OCTA model, built on the same production line as standard Defenders. Modifications, including the BILSTEIN suspension, improved cooling systems, and a wider track, have been implemented to prepare the vehicles for the extreme conditions of the W2RC.

“What an incredible performance from all three of our Defender Rally crews,” said James. “Portugal offers a terrain like no other in the W2RC, consisting of tight tracks, fast routes, and a plethora of difficult terrain. The performance of the Defender Dakar D7X-Rs in said conditions goes to show the impeccable engineering, versatility and durability of Defender, and to be so close to the pace of cars in the Ultimate class exemplifies it perfectly.”

The next round of the World Rally Raid Championship is scheduled to take place from May 24 to 29, 2026, at the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina.

BILSTEIN, a part of thyssenkrupp AG, is headquartered in Ennepetal, Germany, and produces approximately 13 million shock absorbers annually. The company has over 4,100 employees across nine locations in six countries, including the UK, USA, Romania, China, and Mexico.