Land Rover has announced that the Defender will take on the mighty Dakar off-road rally (formerly the Paris-Dakar, for those of you still watching in black and white).
What will the Defender be doing at the Dakar?
The Defender will appear at the Dakar - which nowadays takes place in Saudi Arabia - as a support vehicle for the next event, coming up in January 2025, transporting rally officials and VIP media for the duration of the competition. Along with Defender branding across Dakar, a fleet of six specialised Defender recce vehicles will also be supplied to support officials of the Amaury Sport Association (ASO), Dakar’s organising body, to test routes for future Dakar events.
What about racing the Defender?
Then, in January 2026, the plan is for the Defender to actually enter the famously gruelling rally-raid, although it hasn’t yet been announced whether the competition version will be a modified version of the road-going Defender, or a purpose-built ‘buggy’ with some Defender styling details.
Mark Cameron, Defender Managing Director, said: “Adventure is in the very DNA of the Defender brand, so we are inspired to partner with Dakar - the ultimate motorsport adventure - where competitors truly embrace the impossible. Our partnership begins in 2025 when Defender will showcase its capability and durability as the official car of the event, but we are already looking to the future and entering a Defender Dakar works team from 2026. That Defender Dakar works programme will be led by James Barclay, JLR Motorsport Managing Director, and I know James and his team are inspired by the challenge that lays ahead.”
’Perfect fit’
James Barclay, JLR Motorsport Managing Director, said: “Anyone who loves motorsport will have a passion for Dakar. It’s the Everest of motorsport and an event where success is dependent as much on human determination in the toughest of conditions as it is ultimate test for vehicle and engineering capability. Bringing the world's most capable and iconic 4x4 to the world's most iconic rally-raid is a perfect fit. Our first time ever with a factory entry into the Dakar means we are right at the beginning of our journey. We are conscious of how much we have to learn and achieve before taking the start in 2026, but we are already well under way and looking forward to the adventure. We will share more details of this exciting programme at the Dakar rally in 2025.”