The grueling 2025 Dakar endurance rally is back in action. Some of the most experienced drivers are having issues with tough terrain. Here is the latest update and a close look at Ford’s new Dakar team. Let’s dig in!
Ford Performance and M-Sport throw everything at the 2025 Dakar rally – the world’s toughest off-road endurance race. The team is bringing four custom-built Ford Raptor T1+ racing vehicles and an experience driving and support crew to the rally that started several days ago in Saudi Arabia.
Ford invited TFLtruck to follow the race in person, so we will have many videos and written reports coming for you very soon. In the meantime, here is an update several days of grueling off-road racing.
The Dakar endurance off-road rally started in 1978 and it cut its course from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal. It is basically a two week long endurance race that covers several thousand miles of punishing terrain. Over the decades, the rally moved to South America, and now to Saudi Arabia. It’s no longer in Africa, but the Dakar name remains.
Ford Raptor T1+ Dakar Special
Although the Raptor T1+ Dakar racing vehicles are built specifically for this race, these beasts draw many parallels to the production Raptor vehicles you can buy at the dealer.
There race vehicles are powered by a 5.0L Coyote V8 engine. You can find a version of this engine under the hood of a new Ford F-150 or Mustang. The tuning and power output of this engine is unique. It’s rated at around 355 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque. The engine is backed up by a 6-speed sequential gearbox. You won’t find this transmission in any Ford production vehicle in the U.S.
The Raptor T1+ weighs a minimum of 2,010 kg or 4,431 lbs. It’s relatively compact (by U.S. standards), but it has an insanely big 137 gallon fuel tank. This much fuel is needed to be able to go long distances that this race requires.
It has a wheelbase of 118 inches, overall length of 180 inches, and it is approximately 90.5 inches wide. This is about 3 inches wider than a production F-150 Raptor truck.
The Raptor T1+ has front, rear, and center locking differentials (similar to what you can find on a production Ford Ranger Raptor). It has special FOX dampers and 37-inch BFGoodrich KDR3 tires.
Here is Ford driver & copilot lineup for the Dakar 2025.
- Carlos Sainz Sr / Lucas Cruz
- Nani Roma / Alex Haro
- Mattias Ekström / Emil Bergkvist
- Mitch Guthrie Jr / Kellon Walch
These drivers and co-pilots have decades of combined experience in a variety of off-road racing, including previous Dakar wins and WRC (World Rally Championship) wins.
Carlos Sainz had a rollover in the dunes during a marathon 2-day stage. He was able to finish the stages after the rollover, but the organizers deemed the roll cage compromised and would not allow it to be fixed. Carlos Sainz is forced to retire from this race. Nani Roma had an engine issue that knocks him out of contention. Nani plans to continue the race in order to support the team. Mattias and Mitch are still fighting near the top of the pack.
Competition includes very strong teams from Dacia, Toyota, and many independent/privateers. Just today – Sebastien Loeb of Team Dacia had a rollover after hitting a side washout at speed. He was able to get the race truck going again, but his overall status is now in question.
Many other off-road races are very tough: Baja 1000, Vegas to Reno, and many more. The Dakar is more of a marathon and may be the toughest as it combines driver skill, co-pilot navigation, strategic planning, mental and physical stamina over a period of two weeks and thousands of miles.
Here is my take on the 2023 Ford F-150 Raptor R production off-road high-performance truck. This is from the Silver Lake dunes in Michigan.
