LAND ROVER has agreed to sponsor the Race2Recovery rally team for wounded service personnel in advance of its bid to become the first entry into the Dakar Rally with an amputee driver and co-driver.
Land Rover’s sponsorship will help fund the 31-strong amateur rally team, which aims to complete the 2013 Dakar Rally, while raising money for charities including the “Help for Heroes” campaign.
Land Rover’s support of Race2Recovery includes the supply of Land Rover engines for use in the team’s race vehicles, Land Rover Discovery support vehicles, off-road driving training, a favourable spares and parts supply arrangement plus PR, marketing and financial support.
The four Wildcat Rally Raid vehicles that Race2Recovery entered in the Dakar Rally are also based on the Land Rover Defender, including engines, axles and some cosmetic parts.
“Land Rover is pleased to support the rehabilitation of the courageous individuals within the team, and to help them positively impact on a much larger number of their fellow service personnel through the money they are raising,” said Mark Cameron, Land Rover brand experience director, Global Marketing.
The deal follows Land Rover’s decision earlier this year not to renew its 10-year sponsorship of the Rugby Football Union, thus marking the brand’s exit from popular team sports.
In the UK, however, Land Rover remains the Official Vehicle of the Ski Club of Great Britain and a supporter of British equestrianism via the British Eventing Team, the Burghley Horse Trials and the Royal Windsor Horse Show.
In preparing for the Dakar Rally, the Race2Recovery team will enter a programme of competitive rally events in the next seven months, including the Pharaons Rally Raid in Egypt in October.
By Matthew Glendinning
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @mattglen