As the 2021 Dakar Rally kicked off on 3 January, the Prodrive-backed Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) team have enlisted the help of two unmodified Land Rover Defender 110 vehicles to serve as support for the 4,751-mile-long endurance race.

Autoweek reports that the two mobile support Defender 110s will carry a medical crew, two drivers, and the BRX team’s support personnel for the 12-stage, 13-day event, which is being held in Saudi Arabia.

The Defenders are both P400 models in Indus Silver and are powered by turbocharged, 3.0-liter Ingenium straight-six engines good for 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque.

They will become home for the crew during the two-week long gruelling event, the 43rd Dakar Rally. They will have to sleep, eat, and camp in the two Land Rovers as they chase the BRX team vehicles.

The Defenders have been optioned with the Explorer pack, that includes wheel arch protection, an  expedition roof rack, a deployable roof ladder, and an exterior side-mounted gear carrier

The P400s will not have been trialled off-road by the BRX team prior to the rally, as Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) performed thousands of miles of testing as part of the development program ahead of the Defender’s debut earlier in 2020, including extensive off-road testing with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the United Arab Emirates.

“The crew need to know our support vehicles will be able to carry all of the necessary kit and be relied upon to get to the next service location, whatever the conditions,” Paul Howorth, team principal of Prodrive said.

“New Defender provides a unique combination of all-terrain performance, rugged practicality and comfort – a crucial combination for the unpredictable Dakar conditions and after long days behind the wheel.”

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