Bell & Ross are the official partner of the Defender Rally Team.
Luxury watchmaker Bell & Ross has officially announced its role as the Official Timing Partner of the Defender Rally team. This new partnership will see the brand take on the grueling terrains of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), starting with the iconic Dakar 2026 on January 3rd.
Renowned for crafting timepieces designed for extreme environments—from aviation to diving—Bell & Ross is now bringing its expertise in precision and endurance to the desert, supporting the Defender Rally team as they push mechanical and human limits.
The Watch of the Rally: BR-X3 Black Titanium
As part of this collaboration, the Defender Rally team will be equipped with the BR-X3 Black Titanium, a timepiece that the brand describes as the “ultimate embodiment of watchmaking excellence and precision engineering”.
Designed to withstand the punishing conditions of the Saudi desert, the BR-X3 features:
- Grade 2 Titanium Construction: offering lightweight durability.
- COSC-Certified Manufacture Movement: ensuring chronometer-level accuracy where every second counts.
- Extreme Legibility: a core pillar of the brand, essential for drivers in high-stress racing environments.
Carlos Rosillo, Co-founder and CEO of Bell & Ross, stated that the watch perfectly embodies the philosophy of the Dakar Rally: “precision, legibility and robustness in the most extreme conditions”.
A Meeting of Design and Function
The partnership is built on more than just timing; it represents a shared aesthetic between the watchmaker and the automotive beast. The Defender Dakar D7X-R vehicle shares a clear visual language with Bell & Ross’s signature “circle within a square” design code: angular lines, robustness, and purity of form.
“The functional design of our iconic square watch naturally echoes that of Defender Dakar D7X-R. Both express a bold, uncompromising character defined by strong lines and purposeful forms,” explained Bruno Belamich, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Bell & Ross.
From the Cockpit to the Dunes
Founded in 1994, Bell & Ross quickly established itself as a reference in professional aviation watches, revolutionising design with the aeronautical-inspired BR-01 in 2005.
This move into rally-raid continues the brand’s legacy of operating in high-performance environments. By partnering with Defender Rally for the 2026 season, Bell & Ross reaffirms its motto, “From the cockpit to the wrist,” extending its reach from the skies to the most demanding race tracks on Earth.
