Dakar Rally stage-winner Sara Price to race for Defender in 2026
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
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 Defender as well as 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.”
