What’s wider than a Bronco Raptor but only a little longer than a Bronco Sport? Stand back and check out the Ford Performance T1+ Raptor. These custom-built Raptors are headed to the Dakar Rally next month and I am stoked to see how they perform. What is the Dakar? It’s a cross desert rally with an amazing history and considered one of the toughest events in the world.
What is the Dakar Rally-A Brief History
This multi-day race began in 1978 and was originally referred to as the Paris-Dakar Rally after its start and finish line, but the race eventually moved. After political instability in 2008, the race was relocated to South America, and the name was shortened to Dakar and still holds that title, regardless of the course geography. Since 2020, the race has been held in Saudi Arabia and regularly sees over 300 entries in everything from motorcycles to cars to trucks, and I mean trucks.
The 2025 Dakar
This year’s Dakar begins with a 79km Prologue loop on Friday, January 3rd. Considered a warmup day, the race then runs 12 Stages and 8,000kms (4971 miles). The entire event is in Saudi Arabia, from Bisha to Shubaytah for the finish on January 17th, a full 2 weeklong race with one rest day one week into the competition. The course is a secret, so no pre-running is possible, road books are handed out shortly before that day’s stage.
Most of the days run an average of 400kms of actual competition. When you look at the route page, you’ll see the distances as total and special. Total is simply the total distance covered and includes both transits and race, while special is the distance of the competition.
The Format
Each segment is its own stage and there are 12 of them this year. Before each race stage start, teams are issued a road book that has specific instructions on how to navigate. Since much of the course is off piste, there are pages and pages of instructions. Off piste you say? The road books are French based and although they are primarily symbols, knowing a few words are essential to being able to interpret the instructions. Luckily there is a map of symbols.
The vehicles are allowed GPS and the co-driver has to simultaneously interpret the roadbook symbols, read the GPS headings, watch the terrain, know the distance, and communicate all of those instructions quickly and clearly to the driver, all while transitioning dunes and tracks at top speed. Even if teams are not completely lost, failure to hit required waypoints result in time penalties. The best of the car teams finishes daily timed stages in about 4-5 hours with the overall winner’s total time finishing at about 48 hours for the two-week event.
There is a marathon stage this year, occurring during Stage 2 (Jan. 5-6). The marathon stage offers 6 bivouacs and teams must camp at the closest one they encounter after 5pm. There is no team mechanical support allowed but competitors may work on their own vehicles. Competitors will have a spartan meal and camp. The start orders will be issued at dawn the following morning. From personal experience with this format, it can really rattle teams and impact strategy because you have no idea where the other teams are or if they are still running. In 2024, the Rebelle Rally had a 2-day marathon stage in Johnson Valley, with 4 bivouacs. Once you’re there, there’s not much else to do until the following day, just prep yourselves, your car, and get some rest.
Bringing home a win at Dakar requires extreme resilience and a conservative enough approach to allow the car to finish, while still pushing through extreme terrains of dunes, rocks, narrow canyons, and confusing and challenging tracks. Don’t get lost, don’t break, don’t get exhausted.
Ford Performance Trucks and Teams
Now to the exciting part: Ford is in. Ford Performance has not only committed to entering this event, but they have also brought the most amazing vehicles and racers to pilot them. If you haven’t already checked out this incredible truck, let me introduce you to the custom-built Dakar ready T1+ Raptor.
Ford Performance, along with an engineering collaboration with rally racing experts M-Sport, have not entered one but FOUR of these beautiful Raptors into the 2025 Dakar Rally. Although the vehicles have been specially constructed for the Rally, their hearts are powered by the 5.0l V8 Coyote engine and they all have that Raptor DNA including the classic FORD front grille.
The T1+ is not only the name of the Ford vehicles but it is also a sub-class in the Dakar reserved for prototypes. This class has specifications that include a production engine, with a limit of 400bhp (brake horsepower), which translates to 394 horsepower. There is a lot of design opportunity in this class, so Ford and M-Sport have put together a car that’s wider than a Bronco Raptor but with a length only slightly longer than the Bronco Sport. This wide and stable platform weighs in at only 2010kgs (4430lbs) due to a spaceframe construction of T45 steel and beautifully designed carbon fiber body panels. In comparison a Bronco Raptor weighs in at 5,733 lbs.
The suspension has a front and rear independent double wishbone setup, to allow for more travel without raising the ride height, further adding to stability. Fox has then added three and four-way adjustable external bypass dampers with remote reservoirs at each wheel. Add some 37” tires and 17” aluminum wheels, along with some awesome 355mm Alcon brakes and you have a desert monster. This car is desert tested and has already has a stage win at the Rallye du Maroc in October, which was part of the test for Dakar.
Now to the racers…..
The first is Team 225 with driver Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz. Both have a long pedigree with the Dakar and both have 4 Dakar wins as a team: 2010, 2018, 2020, and 2024. This will be a team to watch for sure.
The second team is Team 226 with driver Mattias Ekstrom and co-driver Emil Bergkvist. Although the team only has 4 years of experience with the Dakar and 2 stage wins, Mattias is a FIA World Rallycross Champion, a two-time DTM Champion, and a four-time winner of the Race of Champions.
The third team, Team 227 with driver Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro. This will be Nani’s 28th Dakar and is one of only 3 competitors to win the event on both a motorcycle and a car. Alex will be competing in his 11thconsecutive Dakar and was a runner up with Nani in 2019.
And finally, Team 228 with driver Mitch Guthrie Jr and Kellon Walch. Last year, after a huge lead in his class at Dakar, mechanical problems found him taking silver. He and his co-driver Kellon took 5 stage wins in 2023 and is one of only 4 Americans to win a Dakar stage on a motorcycle.
How to Follow
Before you start checking out coverage of the Dakar, watch the 4-episode series on Ford Performances’ Journey to the Dakar. It is simply fascinating and will help you understand how much time and effort Ford has put into this challenge.
After checking that out, you can get video coverage starting on January 3rd at 8am EST on the YouTube Dakarsite or by downloading the mobile Dakar app. There will also be regular updates on the Dakar website, on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Tiktok.
Also watch for updates on the Ford Newsroom.
I am super excited to see how these teams perform, fingers crossed for a win.
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