After strong performances in 2025, Ford is aiming for the big win in Saudi Arabia in 2026 – With Sainz, Ekström, and Roma, the breakthrough should be achieved – Seven Raptors in the field
Ford Racing is competing in the Dakar Rally for the second time with the Raptor T1+. In its debut, both Nani Roma and Mattias Ekström won a stage each. Ekström finished third overall, 20 minutes behind. It was the Swede’s first podium finish in his fifth Dakar start.
Ford wants to build on this result in 2026. The factory team is sending Carlos Sainz, Ekström, Roma, and Mitch Guthrie to the start. But Romain Dumas and Denis Krotow will also be there in Saudi Arabia with a Raptor T1+. In addition, private driver Martin Prokop has received a Raptor.
M-Sport is responsible for the development, construction, and deployment of the Ford team. The Raptor is powered by a powerful Coyote Darkhorse V8 engine with a displacement of five liters. Unlike its competitors, Ford relies on naturally aspirated engine power instead of turbochargers. “As a team, we can be really proud that we were able to compete at the front of the field in the last Dakar and show good pace and consistency,” Ekström recalls. “The Raptor performed exceptionally well during this demanding race.”
The two-time DTM champion and world rallycross champion has a clear goal in mind: “I don’t think I could motivate myself to race if I wasn’t competing with the aim of winning.”
“Sometimes it may be unrealistic to believe you can win, but I like being unrealistic,” laughs the 47-year-old. “If you prepare like a winner, you will eventually become a winner.”
“I see how much time and energy I put into thinking about the Dakar, into preparing for the Dakar. Throughout my motorsport career, I’ve always had a clear priority. In the beginning, it was DTM, then rallycross—and now it’s Dakar.”
Sainz returned to Ford and M-Sport last year. They already knew each other from the World Rally Championship. Sainz made his World Championship debut in 1987 and 1988 in the Sierra RS Cosworth, followed by appearances in the Escort (1996-1997) and the Focus (2000-2002).
The Raptor’s Dakar debut ended in an early retirement for Sainz. “We are going into the race with more confidence than last year because we have clocked up more miles and now know the car better,” says the 63-year-old. Sainz has already won the Dakar four times, with Volkswagen, Peugeot, Mini, and Audi. He has also won in Africa, South America, and Saudi Arabia. He knows the recipe for victory: reliability.
“Now that we all have roughly the same weight, similar performance, and the same tires, the difference will be the car that has no technical problems and makes the best use of the chassis,” says Sainz.
“We can expect an edition in which more than 15 vehicles will be able to fight for victory. With so many fast drivers from different generations and brands at the start, it makes things more exciting.“
”The competition will be tough – and great for the spectators. For us, it doesn’t change our approach much, because the pace will be high from the start and it’s important to have as few bad days as possible.“
”But our goal is clear: When you’ve won four times, you can only have one thing on your mind—the fifth victory.” Sainz will be tackling the Dakar Rally for the 19th time. He has won 42 stages in his career so far.
Nani Roma highly motivated after difficult times
Roma has won the Dakar twice. Once with KTM in 2004 as a motorcyclist and once in 2014 with Mini as a car driver. The Spaniard has been part of the Dakar project of M-Sport and Ford from the very beginning. The 53-year-old travels to Saudi Arabia on the momentum of a third-place finish in the Morocco Rally, the last race before the Dakar. “In fact, I was able to drive significantly more races this year,” says Roma, “and that helped a lot.”
“Now we’re competing against drivers who are racing almost every weekend somewhere in the world – so you have to rack up race kilometers, not just test kilometers. We’ve worked intensively on the chassis and weight distribution of the Ford Raptor T1+ EVO.”
“And this year, we’ve made the leap to a faster car. We have strong equipment – and we can fight for victory. I believe we are undoubtedly experiencing the best era in the history of the Dakar.”
“There’s Ford, Dacia, Toyota, Mini and Century. When so many factory teams invest, it creates an environment that attracts other teams,” says Roma, adding: “It’s great to be part of it.” From a personal point of view, this is also very special for Roma. “After everything I’ve been through personally in recent years – cancer, the new start with Ford, my son’s accident – I now feel very calm and at peace. I have a good feeling that Alex [Haro] and I will be really strong in this Dakar.”
Mitch Guthrie in the slipstream of the veterans
Guthrie is also not to be underestimated. In the slipstream of Ekström, the 29-year-old American finished fifth in the last Dakar. “Fifth place last year felt like a victory to me,” says Guthrie, emphasizing the significance of this result. “I competed in the Dakar and two other World Championship races – P5, P5, and P7. I’m really happy with that. Kellon [Walch] and I also won Vegas to Reno. I’ve won pretty much every major race in the US, but that was still missing.“
”It’s great to work with Ford because I’m the young driver on the team and I get the chance to take my time and learn everything. Of course, now that we’ve had a good result, the next step is to do even better next time!”
“It’s positive pressure to improve every time and get closer to the fastest. We’ve tested a lot in the new Raptor, and I think we’re in a really good place. They’ve changed a lot of small details, but overall the car is very similar.”
“I would definitely say that Ford M-Sport is a Dakar team capable of winning. The competition is brutally strong, but we have everything we need to go into Dakar 2026. We’ve all spent enough time in the car—and we’re ready to go all out.”
Ford has never won Dakar with its own team.
