DAKAR RALLY STAGE-WINNER SARA PRICE TO RACE FOR DEFENDER IN 2026
DAKAR RALLY STAGE-WINNER SARA PRICE TO RACE FOR DEFENDER IN 2026
- American rally driver, motocross champion and four-time Dakar stage-winner Sara Price completes the Defender driver line-up for the 2026 Dakar Rally
- Defender, the tough luxury British adventure brand, will enter three-cars into the Dakar Rally in 2026, the halo event of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC)
- In 2024, California’s Sara Price made history as the first American woman and third-ever woman to win a stage in the Dakar Rally
- Sara joins Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel and talented Rokas Baciuška to complete world-class Defender driver line-up
- Sara is now integral to the extensive test programme for the Defender D7X-R rally car, as the team continues its preparations for entry into the ‘Stock’ category of Dakar and W2RC 2026
Hudson Valley, NYC, USA – Wednesday 16 May 2025: Defender has signed trailblazing American rally driver, former motocross champion and four-time Dakar Rally stage winner Sara Price to compete in the 2026 edition of the world’s most epic long-distance off-road race.
Signing Sara sees Defender complete its world-class driver line-up ahead of the adventure brand making its competitive manufacturer team debut in the 2026 Dakar Rally, an extreme off-road test of human and machine. Sara joins fourteen-time Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel and promising talent Rokas Baciuška, in a trio of competition-spec Defender D7X-R rally cars in the ‘Stock’ category for production-based cars.
At the age of eight in southern California, Sara’s passion for racing began on two wheels. After just eight years, Sara had achieved 19 national championships before turning professional and becoming an X-Games Medallist, before starting her journey in four-wheel racing. She has a wealth of experience competing and succeeding in a range of different off-road categories, including winning the legendary Baja Series SCORE International in Trophy Truck and driving for Chip Ganassi Racing in the all-electric rallying championship Extreme E, becoming the team’s first-ever female race winner.
In 2024, Sara made her Dakar Rally debut in the SSV class, becoming the first American woman and third woman ever to win a Dakar Rally stage. She went on to finish fourth overall in the rally and won the title for best rookie. Sara now joins Defender as the brand embarks on its inaugural year competing in the Dakar Rally as a works entry.
Sara Price said: “To join the works Defender team in its competitive debut at the Dakar Rally will be a huge honour, and I cannot wait to get started with the team. The Dakar Rally is the pinnacle of rally-raid competition and I’m extremely proud to have competed in this competition before. Defender is an iconic vehicle with extreme capabilities, as well as a brand fuelled by purpose, so to drive for this British adventure brand at such a huge moment in its history is an amazing accomplishment for me.
“The testing and preparation work that is going behind the scenes is insanely impressive to see and I’m excited to get behind the wheel. As a born racer, I’m very competitive and working with Defender I know that we are aiming high and won’t rest until we succeed.”
Mark Cameron, Managing Director, Defender, said: "Wheels are well and truly in motion for our Dakar Rally debut. Testing is going well, and we have now completed our driver line-up. Signing the brilliantly talented Sara Price is a huge moment for Defender. We have a powerful, capable and durable 4x4 in the Defender Dakar D7X-R, and our skilled and strong-minded drivers will showcase both Defender and explore the limits of human endurance as they navigate the desert dunes and arid plains of the Dakar Rally in January.”
It comes as Defender continues to progress preparations for competing in the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) with successful tests held in a variety of off-road environments. The brand will make its manufacturer team debut at the Dakar Rally where all three drivers will compete, Peterhansel and Baciuška then also competing in the remaining rounds of the 2026 W2RC.
James Barclay, Managing Director of JLR Motorsport, said: “We couldn’t be happier to have secured such a formidable talent in Sara Price. With trailblazing achievements to her name already including Dakar stage wins, coupled with her determination and passion for the sport, Sara is a perfect fit for Defender. She has earned this opportunity and so we are extremely pleased to have her on board with us. She joins a super-strong Defender driver line-up alongside Stéphane Peterhansel and Rokas Baciuška and I have no doubt that our excellent driver line up can help us secure the results we are aiming for.”
About Defender
Defender embraces the impossible. Each member of the Defender family is purposefully designed, highly desirable and seriously durable. A modern-day hero that respects the past but at the same time anticipates the future.
Available in 90, 110 and 130 body styles, with up to eight seats, each has a charisma of its own.
As part of our vision of modern luxury by design, Defender 110 is available as an electric hybrid.
Defender Hard Top means business, with 90 and 110 body styles for professional capability.
The tough luxury Defender OCTA is the master of extreme performance – taking performance and capability to another level on and off-road.
A beacon of liberty that can trace its roots back to the first Land Rover in 1948, Defender is a brand that supports humanitarian and conservation work with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Tusk Trust.
The Defender brand is underpinned by Land Rover – a mark of trust built on more than 75 years of expertise in technology and world-leading off-road capability.
Defender is designed and engineered in the UK and sold in 121 countries. It belongs to the JLR house of brands alongside Range Rover, Discovery and Jaguar.
Defender Rally
Defender embraces the impossible, and Defender Rally embodies this to the extreme, demonstrating the ultimate capability, reliability and endurance in the most challenging of environments.
In 2025 Defender became the official car partner of the Dakar Rally, the partnership set to continue in 2026, 2027 and 2028. From 2026, Defender will also compete in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), entering the ‘Stock’ category – this being the first of a three-year programme.
Defender’s capability is designed to take on the most challenging of conditions, with Dakar Rally being the ultimate test. The competition car retains the same tough, purpose-engineered D7x body architecture as the Defender, based on a lightweight aluminium monocoque construction to create a stiff body structure, in addition to featuring the 4.4-litre twin turbo V8 engine from Defender OCTA to provide exceptional driveability.
While Defender will not compete in Dakar until 2026, it played a key role at the 2025 rally as the event’s official vehicle partner. A fleet of 20 Defenders supported the event, which began in Bisha, Saudi Arabia, and ended in Shubaytah, transporting race officials and VIP media. A further six highly-specialised Defender recce vehicles will be used by Dakar Rally organisers to plan the routes for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 events.
Important notice
JLR is constantly seeking ways to improve the specification, design and production of its vehicles, parts and accessories and alterations take place continually. Whilst every effort is made to produce up-to-date literature, this document should not be regarded as an infallible guide to current specifications or availability, nor does it constitute an offer for the sale of any particular vehicle, part or accessory. All figures are manufacturer’s estimates.
Further Information
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