- The latest teaser for the Ford Raptor racer that will compete in the 2025 Dakar rally has been published.
- Along with it, Ford Motorsports revealed two of the four drivers it will employ to help it win.
- Carlos Sainz Sr. and Nani Roma have won a total of six Dakar titles collectively.
Ford Performance is treating us to another teaser ahead of the launch of its 2025 Dakar rally contender, known only as the Raptor for now, and with that has revealed that Carlos Sainz Sr. and Nani Roma will race the off-roader.
The automaker eventually plans to hire a total of four drivers when it competes at the 2025 running of the Dakar rally, but in Sainz and Roma, it already has more experience than the majority of other teams.
Read: Carlos Sainz Wins His Fourth Dakar And Audi’s First
Sainz may be 61 years old, but he has lost none of his competitive edge. Over the course of his illustrious career, the Spaniard has won the Dakar rally four times, and his latest victory came earlier this year when he became the first driver to ever win the race in an electric-drive vehicle, with Audi.
“Carlos is a legend of our sport and one of the most successful drivers across all formats of off-road racing,” said Matthew Wilson, M-Sport’s Dakar team manager. “His decision to return to Ford and M-Sport after so many years is a huge boost for the team and it is great to have him back in the extended Ford family ready to take on the huge challenge that Dakar presents.”
Roma is no slouch, either. The 52-year-old may be younger than his teammate, but he has won the Dakar rally twice, and drove the Ford Raptor’s predecessor, the Ford M-Sport T1+ Ranger, at this year’s event, so he’s deeply embedded in the team.
“It is such a pleasure to welcome Nani back to the team after a great run this year in the Ranger T1+ in Dakar,” said Wilson. “His experience and knowledge were invaluable to us and I am sure we will continue to learn from him as this exciting program moves forwards.”
Unfortunately, there is less clarity about what the legendary racers will be driving. So far, Ford has only released a handful of carefully cropped photos of the truck, but it has revealed that it will compete in the T1 class, which is the fastest in the field.
The automaker says that testing of the Ford Raptor is already underway, and with two of its drivers already on the roster, there will be plenty of time to develop the race vehicle.
“Taking on such an enormous challenge requires the best engineers, designers, team members, navigators and drivers, and in Nani Roma and Carlos Sainz Sr, we have two of the most experienced and successful drivers in Dakar history,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsport’s global director. “The Ford Raptor is already showing promising signs in testing, and having two of the best drivers in the world with us for the ride gives us confidence for the continued development of the truck.”
2025 @dakar Rally, meet Ford Raptor. We’ve set our sights on conquering the ultimate off-road challenge, joining forces with @CSainz_oficial and @NaniRoma. pic.twitter.com/55RFLcz44y
— Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) May 10, 2024