Four Ford Raptor T1+ are participating in the Dakar. Four-time Dakar winner Carlos Sainz sr. and all-rounder Mattias Ekström is among the favorites aiming for the overall victory.
The other two Raptor T1+ are driven by Dakar icon Nani Roma and American off-road specialist Mitch Guthrie.
The British Rally Raid M Sport team is sending four Ford Raptor T1+ teams to the competition with excellent driving skills. Spaniard Carlos Sainz sr., two-time Dakar winner and this week with his son Carlos Sainz jr. At Ferrari’s Fiorano test track in the current F1 race car, the Ford quartet lead a 7,500km dusty journey in Saudi Arabia. Spear is a four-time winner of the Dakar and
The winner of the 2024 edition with co-driver Lucas Cruz has now returned to Ford from Audi. The two-time world rally champion last drove for M-Sport 22 years ago. Sainz drove an Escort for the Ford team in 1996 and 1997 and a Focus in the World Rally Championship from 2000 to 2022. The 62-year-old won five World Championship races.
With former DTM champion and world rallycross champion Mattias Eksström, another former Audi driver is aiming for the top spot. His co-pilot will be Emil Eqvuist. In 2021, Eksröm participated in the Dakar for the first time. In January of this year, after an impressive performance, he was only 20 minutes behind Sainz in Dakar before his failure cost him a lot of time. That is why Eki is now competing with the biggest ambitions to finish the stage.
After their first success with the M-Sport T1+ project at Dakar 2024, the two-time winner of the Dakar Nani Roma and his sailor Alex Haro will once again represent the colors of Ford in the next edition After moving from the Ranger Raptor to the Raptor T1+ The The Spaniard used his great talent and vast experience to his advantage in the Baja of Hungary and took the first win with the new car. In his 28th Dakar participation (!), Roma wants to turn his great order into another victory in the desert classic.
American road expert Mitch Guthrie and his
Co-pilot Kellon Welch completes the robust robot
The car crew at M-Sport Ford As the “King of
Champion and winner of the Hammers” class in the Baja 1000, Guthrie brings with him a wealth of experience in off-road and desert short-distance events. After several best times in previous editions of the Dakar, the American boy wants to make an impression standing in his first in the top category.
Dakar, as a major desert rally, places the highest demands on people and machines, for which the Ford team considers itself well-prepared.
The new Ford Raptor T1+ was presented to the public at the Festival of Speed in Goodwood, England, this summer. During its debut in the Moroccan Rally competition, the great potential of the new design of the upcoming season’s highlight was already revealed. “El Matador” Sainz impressed on his debut when he won the first stage. With his vast experience, Sainz is right to set his sights on his fifth Dakar victory.
The new roadster has a minimum curb weight of 2,010 kg. Initially, Ford considered installing a 3.5-liter V6 turbo engine. A five-liter V8 engine based on the Ford Coyote engine is now used. If the air flow is low, only about 400 hp is produced.
