Defender Rally and Castrol Join Forces for the 2026 Dakar Rally

Sprache wechseln:

As the prototype Defender Dakar D7X‑R continues testing — with a public debut set for the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed — Defender Rally has announced a new strategic partner: Castrol is now the Official Fluids Partner for its entry into the 2026 World Rally‑Raid Championship (W2RC).

“Castrol is not only a trusted supplier for our production Defenders, but has years of experience in working with top‑performing motorsport teams. To now use the same Castrol lubricants in our Defender D7X‑R rally cars further strengthens the authenticity of us competing in the World Rally Raid Championship’s Stock category for production‑based cars.

There’s no better event than the Dakar Rally to put Defender to the test, with its treacherous terrain, high temperatures and mammoth distances, and with Castrol now on‑board, we’ll be able to jointly test and develop the highest performance lubricants. The Defender Rally team are looking forward to working with Castrol on the W2RC programme and continuing our longstanding relationship with this new activity.“

— Mark Cameron, Managing Director, Defender

Why This Matters

The World Rally‑Raid Championship is no cakewalk. Five punishing rounds across the globe, including the notorious Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, will push man and machine to the absolute limit. From 48-hour stages in blistering desert heat to rocky, remote landscapes in Portugal, Argentina, Morocco and Abu Dhabi — this is where components either survive or snap.

That’s exactly why Castrol’s onboard. Known for their high-performance lubricants, already factory-fill on all production Defenders, Castrol’s gear will now keep the D7X‑R’s internals protected and cool through thousands of kilometres of punishment.

Road Meets Rally

This partnership isn’t just about performance. Both Castrol and Defender Rally are treating W2RC as a two-way testbed. What survives Dakar could end up in your driveway — and vice versa. Think of it as R&D at full throttle, under the worst possible conditions.

For Defender, this isn’t about making a show car. It’s about proving that a production-based vehicle — enhanced, yes, but grounded in real-world engineering — can take on the planet’s toughest rally raid. And with Castrol joining the mission, every drop of oil and ounce of grease will be battle-tested in the most extreme motorsport event on earth.

Stay tuned as Defender Rally and Castrol head into 2026 with one goal: show the world what a properly built vehicle can endure when the stakes are real, and the terrain unforgiving.