Land Rover Defender to play supporting role in 2021 Dakar Rally

A pair of Land Rover Defenders will be making an appearance as support vehicles for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team as it competes in the gruelling 2021 Dakar Rally.

The two Defender 110 models will be used to support the team as it races through the 4,751-mile event in Saudi Arabia next month, carrying vital supplies, crew and equipment over desert dunes, mud and through the harshest of conditions. Bahrain Raid Xtreme’s drivers includes nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastian Loeb and two-time Dakar Rally winner Nani Roma.

Finbar McFall, Jaguar Land Rover customer experience director, said: “Land Rover has a unique Dakar pedigree having won the inaugural event in 1979, and the rally remains the ultimate all-terrain endurance test.

“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 4×4, which has undergone the most demanding engineering test and development programme in our history.”

Both cars will use Land Rover’s straight-six Ingenium petrol engine and come equipped with the ‘Explorer Pack’ which adds features such as a roof rack, raised air intake, added wheel arch protection and a side-mounted loose items carrier. A roof ladder can also be used to access the roof box.

The 2021 Dakar Rally is set to run from January 3 until January 15.