JLR will compete at the 2026 Dakar Rally as part of a wider multi-year partnership with the event.

The British company will compete with its Defender brand – now a brand in its own right following a restructuring announced in June that saw the former-Jaguar Land Rover business become simply JLR, and former-Land Rover products Defender, Discovery, and Range Rover become separate brands in their own right, alongside Jaguar. Aside from that, little is known about the project so far, with further details set to be announced during the 2025 Dakar Rally in January.

“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,” said Defender managing director Mark Cameron. “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 program 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.”

The program will be the second factory-backed motorsport effort from JLR, with its Jaguar brand currently competing in Formula E. It secured both the teams’ and manufacturers’ titles last season, but narrowly missed out on a hat-trick after Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein beat Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy to the drivers’ crown at the final round in London in July.

[lawrence-related id=367945]

“Anyone who loves motorsport will have a passion for Dakar,” said Barclay. “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 the ultimate test for vehicle and engineering capability. Bringing the world’s most capable and iconic 4×4 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 program at the Dakar rally in 2025.”

JLR’s involvement with Dakar extends beyond competing in the contest, with Defender also supplying cars to be used by officials and VIP media from next year’s event, while a fleet of specially-prepared Defender recce vehicles will also be provided to officials to be used for support and to test out future rally routes.

“We are thrilled to welcome Defender as the new official car partner of the Dakar,” said Dakar rally director David Castera. “It is an iconic brand, present on all continents, that shares our passion for adventure, performance, and innovation.

“We are also excited that Defender will accompany us throughout the year, providing vehicles for the organizing teams and for the route reconnaissance. Their reliability and robustness will help us improve our daily efficiency.”

Defender’s addition to the Dakar rally roster follows the addition factory efforts from Ford and Romanian brand Dacia, which will compete from next year with programs led by M-Sport and Prodrive respectively.

The 2025 Dakar rally begins on January 3 and will be the 47th running of the event, and fifth to take place in Saudi Arabia.

The rally raid crown jewel moved from Dakar in Senegal after the 2007 edition, following political unrest in Mauritania. In 2008 the seven-stage Central European Rally counted as the Dakar, before the event was properly rebooted in Argentina and Chile a year later. It remained in South America until 2019, before setting in the Middle East in 2020, where it has remained since.