Defender will enter Dakar from 2026 in the Stock category with a ‘real automobile to prove what it is capable of’ and has the endorsement of the FIA.
The Defender brand has revealed ambitions to attend the Dakar Rally in 2026 as part of a three-year campaign.
The British company, a subsidiary of Land Rover, will field two models of the iconic Defender in all rounds of the World-Rally Raid Championship next year, with an additional third vehicle added to its line-up for Dakar.
Defender will participate in the Stock category that is designated for production cars, however the sporting and technical standards will be changed in 2026 to make the class more competitive and let manufacturers to demonstrate what they are capable of in a rally-raid.
Explaining the decision to enter Dakar in the Stock division, as opposed to the Ultimate class that features prototypes from the likes of Toyota, Dacia and Ford, JLR Motorsport's managing director James Barclay told reporters including Motorsport.com: "For us to come with Ultimate is not authentic, the Defender is the original off-road vehicle.
"It was the first four-wheel drive off-roader in history, so for us to enter into motorsport, it's not like we have to.
"It's only if we can do it the right way, and the correct way is to demonstrate the capability of our fantastic Defender as a production car, if we come with a space frame car that looks like a Defender, it's not real in our perspective.
"We wanted the challenge to be about bringing our genuine automobile to show what it is capable of, and to support this ambition.
"ASO and the FIA had to look at the regulations and say, 'OK, we need to fix it'. The laws were based on a very archaic notion of a production vehicle, and what we've done is work with the FIA and ASO to bring the regulations in line with the reality of what a current production SUV is.
"The Defender is an aluminium architecture, what we call the D7X platform for Defender, an aluminium monocoque structure, three times stiffer than a conventional traditional means of creating an SUV.
"And the powertrains are also really fascinating, and we'll offer more information on that later. When you look at off-road sport, we think there is a big opportunity, if you compare GT3 and GT4 in circuit racing, in 2000 when the category was created, there was very little GT racing, and if you look at it now, GT racing is prolific with GT3 and GT4, whereas in off-road racing, there is a big opportunity."
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Defender has yet to identify the drivers for its three-car attack for the Dakar, but says it is seeking for proven runners to spearhead the plan. A female driver might potentially be recruited as part of its line-up.
Defender is already the official vehicle partner for Dakar this year and has given 20 SUVs to shuttle race officials and VIPs. A further six adapted Recee cars will join the fleet to assist organize ASO design the course for the 2026, '27 and '28 editions of the Dakar.
Defender stated it has already began a full development plan with its new rally-raid challenger and that it would run the vehicle in a competitive setting for the first time in Autumn 2025.
This will precede the car’s debut voyage in the 48th edition of Dakar in January 2026.
Dakar 2025 begins today. Defender is already here proving its capabilities and durability through our official vehicle alliance, but to know that in 12 months we’ll be returning with a three-car Defender works team entry at the beginning of a full FIA World Rally Raid Championship season is tremendously exciting. We have chosen to participate in the ‘Stock’ category to exhibit the ruggedness and reliability of the production Defender. “There’s plenty work to do over the coming 12 months, but with Defender works programme testing and development well under way, the crew are already relishing the ultimate motorsport experience that lays ahead from 2026
I’ve nicknamed Dakar the Everest of motorsport. Being here today to once again watch the prologue stage kick-off underscores the difficulty we face. It will be a great journey from both human and engineering viewpoints, and the team are already working hard to develop Defender inside the new ‘Stock’ FIA W2RC rules for 2026 that will make it such a competitive category. We together with the FIA, Dakar and other manufacturers have helped create these new regulations, which mark an exciting new chapter for the Dakar, W2RC and Rally Raid in general. “We’re also delighted to confirm our technical partnership with Prodrive.
Their knowledge will be vital to the programme, and I’m looking forward to giving you more news shortly of our Rally Raid competition-spec Defender that’s in development.” While Defender will not race in Dakar until 2026, it will play a crucial role at the 2025 rally as the event’s official vehicle partner. A fleet of 20 Defenders will assist the event, which begins in Bisha, Saudi Arabia, and concludes in Shubaytah, carrying race officials and VIP media. A additional six highly specialist Defender recce vehicles will be used by Dakar Rally organisers to determine the courses for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 editions.
