Photo: Land Rover
The Land Rover Defender is no stranger to the Dakar Rally. A long line of SUVs wearing this nameplate entered the competition over the years, but none of them were part of the new generation, presented about a year ago.
In fact, the first edition of the rally, the one held in 1979, was won by a related brand, Range Rover, and hopes were that we’d get to see the new Defender trying to live up to its legacy this January in Saudi Arabia. Sadly, although there will be Defenders in the sand there, they will not be racing.
British carmaker Land Rover announced on Tuesday, December 22, it will have two Defender 110 models on-site, acting as crew vehicles for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) team. The Defenders sent to the desert will not be significantly modified from the stock ones.
“Land Rover has a unique Dakar pedigree having won the inaugural event in 1979, and the rally remains the ultimate all-terrain endurance test,” said in a statement Finbar McFall, Jaguar Land Rover Customer Experience Director.
“While the Defenders won’t be competing, they will have a vital role in supporting the team as they navigate their way across thousands of miles of punishing desert terrain. The fact these vehicles are unmodified is testimony to the intrinsic capability and durability of our legendary 4x4, which has undergone the most demanding engineering test and development programme in our history.”
The 2021 Dakar Rally kicks off on January 3 and should be over on January 15. This time, the course takes racers from the city of Jeddah on the shores of the Red Sea, then deeper into the desert, back down to Riyadh, and following a good-old loop, back in Jeddah.
The course is 7,646 km (4,751 miles) long, and we’re promised “everything will be brand-new, including every single kilometer of the specials.”
British carmaker Land Rover announced on Tuesday, December 22, it will have two Defender 110 models on-site, acting as crew vehicles for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) team. The Defenders sent to the desert will not be significantly modified from the stock ones.
“Land Rover has a unique Dakar pedigree having won the inaugural event in 1979, and the rally remains the ultimate all-terrain endurance test,” said in a statement Finbar McFall, Jaguar Land Rover Customer Experience Director.
“While the Defenders won’t be competing, they will have a vital role in supporting the team as they navigate their way across thousands of miles of punishing desert terrain. The fact these vehicles are unmodified is testimony to the intrinsic capability and durability of our legendary 4x4, which has undergone the most demanding engineering test and development programme in our history.”
The 2021 Dakar Rally kicks off on January 3 and should be over on January 15. This time, the course takes racers from the city of Jeddah on the shores of the Red Sea, then deeper into the desert, back down to Riyadh, and following a good-old loop, back in Jeddah.
The course is 7,646 km (4,751 miles) long, and we’re promised “everything will be brand-new, including every single kilometer of the specials.”
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