Sara Price announced as third 2026 Dakar Defender works driver
Defender, the off-road subsidiary of JLR, has announced American rally driver, motocross champion and four-time Dakar stage-winner Sara Price for its Dakar 2026 driver line-up.
The Californian joins Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel and Rokas Baciuška in a trio of competition-spec Defender D7X-R rally cars based on the V8-powered Defender Octa in the 'Stock' category for production-based cars.
Price's racing experience extends from national championships and as an X-Games medallist. She has succeeded in various classes, including winning the 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 female race winner.
In 2024 Price made her Dakar Rally debut in the SSV class, becoming the first American woman and third woman to win a Dakar Rally stage. She went on to finish fourth overall in the rally and won the title for best rookie. Price now joins Defender as the brand embarks on its inaugural year competing in the Dakar Rally as a works entry.
'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 proud to have competed in this competition before,' said Price.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
8 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
After the Bell: Who's afraid of losing Agoa?
One of the great risks of the debate around Agoa is that it gives us something else to blame, when we should blame ourselves for our poor economy. And we must remember that it is not true that there is no cost to us from Agoa. One of the most boring discussions I've heard around our economy over the past five years has been posed as 'will we keep Agoa?' I hear it everywhere, even now, when US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants to tear up the entire trade rule book. I can understand why we keep hearing about it. There are certain sections of our economy that really benefit from it. Because of Agoa (the African Growth and Opportunity Act), they have been able to grow and employ people. And some of the arguments they can make about why Agoa matters to us are important. Free market access to the US is great for the car industry, and for our farmers. It means they are exporting goods produced here, earning dollars in return and basically importing jobs. People are employed, their kids are kept in good schools. You could argue that the entire community around Daily Maverick journalist Estelle Ellis and the rest of the Baywatch team will be badly hit if it all comes to an end. And that would be true. Farmers, too, had a bumper season exporting to the US in the first quarter of the year. They were able to increase the amount of goods they sent there dramatically in that quarter. When I first heard that, I thought, perhaps, like the Chinese (and I'm sure others), they had been rushing goods into US ports before new tariffs could come into effect. But that amazing agricultural economics guru Wandile Sihlobo told me on The Money Show on Monday night that this is not the case. It happened because our farmers have created a strong demand for their goods. And, like our car industry, we are basically importing jobs. But we should be aware that, despite these very loud and important voices in our national debate, this is not the end of the story. The Brookings Institute estimated nearly 18 months ago that 'In total, a loss of Agoa benefits would lead to a GDP decline of just 0.06%'. To put that into context, our GDP grew by just 0.1% in the first quarter of this year. At the same time, the South African Reserve Bank has generally said that load shedding was costing our GDP 2% every year. So it may matter, but only in the context of our complete inability to take action to grow our own economy. One of the great risks of this debate around Agoa is that it gives us something else to blame, when we should blame ourselves for our poor economy. And we must remember that it is not true that there is no cost to us from Agoa. In fact, a few weeks ago I was almost taken aback when an American investor (one of those wonderful people who travels the world, and is hugely interested and fascinated by it) asked me point-blank: 'Why do you all care so much about Agoa?' He even suggested that actually it went against our interests. This is because of some of the small print. If you look at the text of the Act that passed through the US Congress, the conditions of eligibility are designed to literally create African economies in the US mould. Of course, as we were so often reminded during the Lady R saga, it says that you must 'not engage in activities that undermine United States national security or foreign policy interests'. This is a wonderful stick for the US to beat us with. If it wants, it could define our opposition to Israel's genocidal war on the people of Gaza as 'undermining' US 'foreign policy interests'. To be clear, there is much in Agoa that is good. It mentions that workers must be protected, that there should be political freedom and things like that. But it is still a tool of foreign policy. Yes, Agoa is helping African countries to develop. But it is also a useful instrument of control. Agoa looks finished anyway. In reality, the US system of government appears to be giving Trump whatever he wants. So far, very few Republicans have spoken against his tariff policies. But the markets are speaking. And the fact that the bond markets have forced Trump to basically chicken out has given us the wonderful phrase Taco (Trump always chickens out). So, I do think we need to be less afraid of him. He is slowly being revealed as all bark and very little bite. What we really need to do is to find Americans who lose out if we cannot export to the US. The US citrus industry, for example, needs our oranges to keep the market interested in oranges during their non-growing season. And we should not forget those strange people who drive BMW X3s. The models sold in the US are only made here. And even if they are rubbish cars (who can forget Jeremy Clarkson having to throw the sound guy out of the car to go and push, even now it's still worth watching), there is still a lobby for them in the US. I think we need to stop worrying so much about Agoa.
TimesLIVE
9 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Maestro Musetti carves Tiafoe win to reach French Open semifinals
Italian craftsman Lorenzo Musetti used his full palette of shots to decorate Court Philippe Chatrier with blistering baseline winners, beating American Frances Tiafoe 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2 to reach the French Open semifinals for the first time on Tuesday. Despite a few muddled moments, the world number seven set up a meeting with either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Tommy Paul of the US as he continues his Renaissance after some soul searching. Musetti, who said he put some order in his mind and game, did not let frustration take the best of him after losing the second set and once he found his groove, there was no stopping him as 15th seed Tiafoe gradually lost the plot, twice arguing with the chair umpire over line calls. He bowed out with yet another routine shot into the net, his 'Big Foe' neck chain dripping with sweat as a testimony of the battle just fought. Lorenzo Musetti carries the one-handed backhand legacy into the #RolandGarros semifinals 💥🎾 — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2025 'Definitely Frances did not start the way he wanted but today was really complicated, it was so windy and difficult to mange to properly hit the ball,' said Musetti, the only man to reach at least the semifinals of every main clay court event this season. 'The third set was a fight and even if I was a little tired I found the extra energy to win this set and the last set was probably the best set of this match.' Musetti is one of the rare top players using the single-handed backhand, a vintage shot often praised by tennis connoisseurs. 'We are Italian, we are elegant,' he joked. 'Joke aside, I have a little bit of a retro style.' 'Our rivalry is pushing both of us.' It's going to be a blockbuster match-up between Sabalenka and Swiatek in the semifinals 🍿 🎟️ #RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2025 Earlier, and in front of mostly empty seats around lunchtime four-time champion Iga Swiatek, looking to become the first woman in the professional era to win the title four times in a row, beat Elina Svitolina 6-1 7-5 to set up a clash with world number one Aryna Sabalenka for a place in Saturday's final. The Belarusian ended Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen's 10-match winning streak at Roland Garros with a 7-6(3) 6-3 victory to advance. With the main arena finally almost full, Musetti got off to a strong start, his heavy top spin proving tough to handle for Tiafoe, who dropped serve in the second game. The Italian, however, was not completely flawless and he faced a break point at 4-2, which he saw off thanks to his mesmerising backhand. He sealed the opening set on his opponent's serve when Tiafoe's volley sailed wide. Musetti's game, however, needed some fine-tuning and Tiafoe jumped on the occasion to bank on errors here and there to snatch an early break in the second set. He held serve throughout to level the contest as Musetti seemed to struggle adjusting to the windy conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier. Musetti dug deep in the third and played a near-perfect game on Tiafoe's serve to surge 2-1 ahead. A modest second serve met Musetti's powerful cross court return and after trading heavy topspin shots, Tiafoe attempted a crafty drop shot, but the Italian charged forward for a clinical backhand winner on the baseline. The fourth set looked more like a post-match cool-down for Musetti, who would not be distracted by Tiafoe's antics.
TimesLIVE
18 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
US airlines oppose credit card fee crackdown they say could imperil free flight offers
Major airlines said on Monday they oppose a new effort to advance legislation that would reduce fees charged by Visa and Mastercard on transactions, saying it could force them to stop offering rewards credit cards that give consumers frequent flyer miles for making transactions. American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others including aeroplane makers Boeing, Airbus, RTX and GE Aerospace, said in a letter to senators the legislation sponsored by senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall could sharply reduce air travel and harm tourism. Also signing the letter were aviation unions. Airlines generate billions of dollars annually in fees for branded credit cards. Durbin has called the airlines 'basically credit card companies that own some planes'. The airlines argue the reduction in swipe fees would make it impossible to offer rewards and point to a 2010 law aimed at debit card fees they say nearly eliminated rewards debit cards. Airlines successfully defeated efforts in 2023 to pass the measure but it could be attached to a cryptocurrency bill under consideration this week. Durbin, a Democrat, previously said the measure co-sponsored with Republican Marshall could save merchants and consumers $15bn (R268.28bn) annually in fees for credit card transactions, while businesses pay more than $100bn (R1.78-trillion) in so-called swipe fees annually. Durbin and Marshall did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The letter said more than 31-million Americans hold airline travel reward cards and 57% of frequent flyer miles and points issued in 2023 were generated by airline credit card use. Nearly 16-million domestic air visitor trips were awarded from points earned through use of an airline-branded credit card in 2023. Last year, the Biden administration transportation department opened an inquiry ordering American, Delta Air Lines, Southwest and United to provide records and submit reports to ensure consumers do not face unfair, deceptive or anticompetitive practices. US carriers relied on these programmes, which have tens of millions of members, for revenue and to raise funds during the Covid-19 pandemic when travel demand plunged. Loyalty programmes of Delta, United and American were each valued at more than $20bn (R357.67bn) in 2023, according to consulting firm On Point Loyalty.
