Land Rover Defender is the official car partner to Dakar Rally. Photography by Trigger.

Defender will compete with a works team in Dakar as part of a three-year FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) campaign, beginning in 2026.
The Programme complements a multi-year agreement with Defender as official car partner to Dakar Rally, supplying a fleet of support and highly specialised recce vehicles starting at this year’s rally. A fleet of 20 Defenders will support the event, which begins in Bisha, Saudi Arabia and ends 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.
From 2026, Defender will run a two-vehicle entry across the full five-rounds of the W2RC, with a three-car entry in the championship’s halo event the Dakar Rally. Competing in a new category – for production‑based vehicles – which from 2026 will conform to new and heavily revised regulations making it the perfect platform to demonstrate Defender’s extreme capability and durability.
The Defender works team will complete a full test and development programme in 2025 in preparation for their inaugural Dakar Rally in 2026.

And who was there to photograph this epic event: Trigger!