Works Defender team lined up for Dakar 2026
Defender also set to become the official car partner of the Dakar Rally from next year
Given Jaguar’s frenetic scramble to locate its soul, it is oddly comforting to find the other half of JLR making instantly understandable brand decisions. In the pantheon of international motorsport, the Dakar Rally cannot claim a huge fanbase - certainly not in the sense of spectators tuning in or turning up to watch it - but everyone (i.e. every car enthusiast) knows that winning ‘the world’s most demanding off-road competition’ it is a big deal. Even entering it is a significant commitment. Accordingly, it is pleasingly on-brand to learn that Land Rover is about to kick off a multi-year partnership with the event that will see it enter a Defender factory team in 2026.
On the basis that this agreement will also see it become ‘the official car partner of the Dakar Rally’ - meaning Land Rover will supply a fleet of Defenders to support the 2025 event in January - it’s safe to assume that the firm has been building up to this announcement for some time. The motive for its involvement hardly needs much explaining, but James Barclay, JLR Motorsport Managing Director, boiled it down to: “[Dakar is] the Everest of motorsport and an event where success is dependent as much on human determination in the toughest of conditions as it is the 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.”
The fit is so perfect in fact, that it’s a wonder that Land Rover didn’t think of it before. Although its takeover of Bowler Motors, with its long history of competing in off-road motorsport, now makes a bit more sense (even if Land Rover recently confirmed that it would be closing the firm’s old headquarters in Belper and consolidating its activities). While there are no additional details on what exactly its future entrant will look like, the fact that a Defender OCTA-style wing features in the promotional material is a conspicuous hint. Apparently ‘six highly specialised recce vehicles’ will be supplied to Dakar officials in January, too - potentially another showcase for something that looks very much like the new Defender performance flagship.
Understandably, there’s a certain amount of humility required at this stage: “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 underway and looking forward to the adventure,” added Barclay. Expect to learn a good deal more about what Land Rover has planned when it turns up the media spotlight ahead of the 47th running of the event (and the sixth in Saudi Arabia) in the new year.
on our team we had a new defender 110. The drivers usually raced a prepped Bowler which unfortunately was totaled weeks before the event. hence they brought a defender along (relatively standard except for full underbody guarding and uprated wheels.
They were very impressed with it, even in the dunes. It did break one of the aluminum 'control' arms holding the wheels on! which was an issue (not many new landrover spares in Mauritania!). but after finding a part they managed to make it to Dakar!
- Highly brand-appropriate
- T2/series producetion class is a motorsport backwater (won ten times by the same team) so it should be low-hanging fruit for a big-money entrant but...
- the Dakar still has enough recognition that "fastest production car" still makes promotional value.
If they manage to pull it off, and finish the race (say, same as a Toyota Hilux) it would do wonders to the reliability perception too, even if the race car has less in common with the production one
It does raise some questions for me though. You have to say that Land Rover have done a really good job of blending heritage with modernity. Their range leans heavily on their past, but the current line-up is modern and has stacks of appeal (despite the reliability issues). With that in mind, it only makes the Jaguar thing look even more bizarre. How have they got the LR/RR side of the business so right, but the Jaguar side so wrong? And why have they decided to take the Jaguar side down such an extreme direction, instead of emulating what they've done with LR/RR? Just seems a bit bizarre to me.
It does raise some questions for me though. You have to say that Land Rover have done a really good job of blending heritage with modernity. Their range leans heavily on their past, but the current line-up is modern and has stacks of appeal (despite the reliability issues). With that in mind, it only makes the Jaguar thing look even more bizarre. How have they got the LR/RR side of the business so right, but the Jaguar side so wrong? And why have they decided to take the Jaguar side down such an extreme direction, instead of emulating what they've done with LR/RR? Just seems a bit bizarre to me.
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