Land Rover Defender, the luxury British adventure brand, has announced an ambitious three-year program to compete in the Dakar Rally and the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), targeting full participation from 2026 to 2028. As part of the campaign, Defender will enter both Dakar and the five-round W2RC with a two-vehicle works team, adding a third car exclusively for Dakar, the championship’s marquee event.
This program marks Defender’s entry in the FIA “Stock” category, designated for production-based vehicles, which will adhere to extensively revised regulations beginning in 2026. These changes aim to create a competitive platform to showcase the performance, durability, and capability of production vehicles like the Defender.
Preparation for the competitive debut is already underway, with a comprehensive testing and development phase planned throughout 2025. The program will culminate in a competitive test event in autumn 2025, followed by a formal team launch ahead of the Dakar Rally in January 2026. Defender vehicles will feature the brand’s purpose-engineered D7x architecture, a lightweight yet stiff aluminium monocoque structure, designed to endure the extreme conditions that Dakar is known for.
At the 2025 Dakar Rally, although Defender will not compete officially, it will play a central role as the event’s official car partner. Twenty Defender vehicles will be deployed as support and VIP media transport, alongside six specially designed recce vehicles utilized by rally organizers to map future race routes for the 2026-2028 events.
Mark Cameron, Managing Director of Defender, described the program as “the ultimate motorsport adventure,” while James Barclay, Managing Director of JLR Motorsport, referred to Dakar as “the Everest of motorsport,” emphasizing the human and engineering challenges of the campaign. They highlighted the strategic decision to compete under the new “Stock” category to demonstrate the toughness and reliability of the production vehicles.
The Defender program reflects the brand’s heritage of innovation and off-road expertise, reinforcing its position as a hallmark of durability and capability in extreme conditions. As part of the JLR house of brands, Defender combines its legacy with modern luxury and sustainability ambitions, including electric hybrid offerings.
