It's amazing to be Stock Champions. It was a long season. Now, I’m a four‑time Rally‑Raid champion in different categories, two times in SSV, one time in Challenger and this year now for Stock. I’ve won at Dakar for different categories too. To be the winner, especially in Stock for the first year for Defender, it’s really amazing. Thanks to all the team who supported us all season. It’s not just about the job behind the wheel, it’s everyone behind the car, the mechanics and all the engineers, the team did a lot of important work, and we wouldn’t be able to achieve what we have without them. I'm super happy, another title to add to the list!

It has been a really good season. We couldn’t ask for more. We won the Dakar Rally and we won the World Rally‑Raid Championship in Stock. From Stage 1 of the Dakar Rally, we started managing and maintaining, during Dakar and after Dakar. We didn’t go for the push too much, we wanted to stay steady and try our best. We are very happy, and it's a top three in the championship for Defender. The cars have been amazing, we've been through a lot of challenges, and now we're really happy about how everything went and we can't wait for what's next.

This year has given us really demanding races, especially Morocco, which was demanding for the car, demanding for the people, and the drivers. But it was also a really interesting test, to see the limit of the car in hot conditions. The final result is really good, we won Rallye du Maroc overall.
This season, we were not super lucky at the Dakar Rally, but after that, we won the three races, Portugal, Argentina, and Morocco, so it meant that we had good speed. I have a good relationship with Mika, and we are really happy with our crew of mechanics and engineers. Every morning they gave us a good car, ready to start, ready to fight for the victory each stage. The spirit inside the team is really good too. We’ve enjoyed it a lot this full season. Except maybe Dakar, we expected a little more there, but this is motorsport, and we know that anything can happen. The season has been super enjoyable and again, the team spirit is amazing.

It has been absolutely amazing to be a part of Defender Rally this year. 
It's kind of crazy that, you know, it's already been a year, it’s gone so fast. This team is absolutely amazing. The people in the team make it a family. And the D7X‑R, I'm just genuinely in love with it, it is my dream car. So, the fact that I get to race it through these environments and all around the world, is a dream come true, and can't wait for what the future has in store for me.

That's a wrap on Rallye du Maroc and our debut season. It’s phenomenal to see all three cars and all three teams performing so well under some incredibly challenging conditions this week. 
Firstly, a congratulations goes to Toyota Land Cruiser’s Yasir Seaidan and Jean‑Michel Polato for today's stage win. Ultimately, the event itself has been Stéphane and Mika’s, so huge congratulations to them both for a fearless performance to win this event.

Of course, from a championship perspective, a huge congratulations to Rokas and Oriol for wrapping up the inaugural championship for Defender Rally and the D7X‑R. It’s been an incredible year all round and I couldn't be proud of them, all of our crews, and of course, the team behind it all.

Results like this don't just come from performance, they come from the camaraderie and the culture that you have within this team, and in that respect, this team is second to none. I hope they can now celebrate and celebrate hard. Believe me, we'll be back next year, making sure that we can fight for that championship, for a win at each event and who knows, maybe we can try for a clean sweep of wins across the board.

2026 has been a remarkable year for the FIA World Rally‑Raid Championship, and it has been a pleasure to welcome Defender to the championship this year.

The team has delivered an outstanding debut season, performing strongly across very different conditions and terrain throughout the year.

This is also a historic achievement, with the first FIA Rally‑Raid Championship titles awarded for Stock Manufacturers, Drivers and Navigators. I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to the entire Defender team, and to Rokas Baciuška and Oriol Vidal on a thoroughly deserved victory.