Sara Price and co-driver Sean Berriman claimed victory in the Stock class on Stage 1 of Rallye du Maroc, giving Defender Rally a winning start to its final competitive outing of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship season.
Driving the #504 Defender Dakar D7X-R, Price and Berriman completed Tuesday’s 639km stage from the Atlantic foothills of Agadir to the desert region of Zagora in 3:33:49, securing Price’s seventh W2RC stage victory of the season.
Toyota returned to Stock competition for the first time since the Dakar Rally, with Yasir Seaidan and Jean-Michel Polato taking the #505 Toyota to second in 3:43:05, just over nine minutes behind the winning Defender.
Stéphane Peterhansel and Mika Metge finished third for Defender in 3:49:44, while Stock championship leader Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal completed the stage fourth in 3:55:56, 22 minutes behind Price and Berriman.
For Price, the victory carried added significance given her history with the event.
“The result for today’s stage is obviously amazing for us and Morocco is where it all started for me in rally-raid, so it’s really cool to be back,” Price said.
“The dunes were challenging but we pushed through. We saw the others slowing too, but we kept going, did our best and worked together as a team to get to the finish.”
Heat takes its toll in the dunes
The opening stage presented a significant test for Defender’s three crews, particularly as temperatures climbed through the large dunes towards the end of the day’s running.
Peterhansel and Baciuška both lost time in the final section as they managed their cars through the extreme heat, while Price and Berriman maintained their momentum to emerge with the Stock victory.
Peterhansel said the conditions became increasingly difficult once the crews reached the dunes. The Frenchman had also faced a long day that began with almost 300km of liaison from Agadir.
“When we entered the dunes, things got a little bit complicated because of the high temperatures, which was necessary for us to manage,” Peterhansel said.
“We lost some time, but we finished the stage and we’re really happy about that.”
Baciuška faced additional problems during the stage. His crew let air out of the tyres while negotiating the dunes before having to reinflate them afterwards, costing time. They then suffered a puncture which required a tyre change.
“We were taking care of the car and surviving, so we kept going and, in the end, we managed to finish,” Baciuška said. “Let’s see how the rest of the race goes, our target is to make sure we get to the finish every day.”
Defender gets all three cars home
Despite the demanding conditions, all three Defender D7X-Rs reached the Zagora bivouac, allowing the team to regroup ahead of Wednesday’s second stage.
Defender Rally Team Principal Ian James was encouraged to see all three cars make it through a difficult opening day.
“Stage 1 was a challenging day for all three cars, primarily due to the terrain and the temperatures that we encountered. It’s fantastic to see all three cars returning to the bivouac in reasonably good shape though, and congratulations, as always, to Sara and Sean for chalking up their first stage win,” James said.
“The team will now ensure that the cars are well prepared for tomorrow, and we’re anticipating an equally challenging day in terms of both temperatures and terrain.”
Four stages remain in Morocco
With the opening stage complete, four competitive stages remain at Rallye du Maroc.
Stage 2 takes place on Wednesday, 30 September, with competitors tackling a 423km loop starting and finishing in Zagora. The route is expected to feature a mixture of dunes, sand, gravel and rocky sections.
Price and Berriman will head into Stage 2 carrying the momentum of Tuesday’s victory, while Peterhansel and Baciuška will look to recover from the time lost in the punishing heat as Defender continues its final event of its debut W2RC campaign.
