DEFENDER

 “Portugal turned out to be a surprising race for our team, as we had expected to be slower than the Challenger and SSV category vehicles that started behind us – vehicles we know to be very fast on this type of terrain. The Defender proved to be very capable, and once again we’re pleased to have brought all three cars home without any trouble, which was no mean feat for a first race in new conditions that were completely different from the Dakar.”

• Oriol Vidal is a former quad biker turned co-driver who has been working with Rokas Baciuska since 2022, guiding the young Lithuanian to some of his biggest results. In 2023 he won the W2RC navigator's title in SSV.   
• Oriol was just a year old when he was given his first electric quad, because his family ran a dealership in Spain. He started riding an 80cc quad at age three and competing at age six, mainly against motorbikes. Growing up, his father also taught him the basics of mechanics.
• While the 32-year-old Spaniard never achieved his dream of winning the Dakar on a quad, he was runner-up at the Bajas World Cup in 2016, which led to a 'game-changing' offer of co-driving at Dakar 2017. After stints with Santi Navarro, Claude Fournier, Adrian Santos and Saleh Al-Saif, he linked up with Rokas at the Rallye du Maroc 2022, where they took P1 in the SSVs. In their subsequent Dakars together they came second in SSV and third in Challenger.   
• Oriol also has a degree in mechanical engineering and spent several years working as an engineer in the Superbike World Championship, before deciding to commit to being a full-time professional co-driver.   
• In recent years Oriol has suffered with a persistent back injury caused by a degenerative disc disease. While it will never fully heal, he has managed to eliminate the neurological symptoms that prevented him from taking part in motorsport events, notably Dakar 2025. 
• Oriol is also passionate about cycling. Having trained on a mountain bike since childhood, he discovered road cycling in 2016, and began competing at club level from 2018. He was even offered a chance to turn pro in 2019 but turned it down in favour of motorsport. After doing the Gravel World Championships in 2024, he spent part of 2025 with Portuguese continental team Efapel Cycling, finishing fourth in the individual time trial at the Catalunya Championship.