Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn is sending two of its purpose-built Raptor T1+ desert race trucks to compete in the Rallye du Maroc in Monaco this week and the legendary Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia early next year.
The Rallye du Maroc starts tomorrow and concludes Oct. 11. The Dakar Rally will be run Jan. 3-17, 2025.
The Ford Performance team in Morocco will be led by two of the most renowned off-road racers in the world – Matthias Ekström and Carlos Sainz Sr.
WRX champion Ekström and four-time Dakar champion Sainz join American off-road ace Mitch Guthrie Jr. and two-time Dakar champion Nani Roma to round out the Ford 2025 Dakar Rally driver lineup. All drivers and their navigators have previous Dakar competition experience.
“Our goal has always been to build a diverse and powerful team, and with the additions of Mattias and Mitch, we’ve achieved that,” says Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “We have a blend of Dakar champions and rising stars, all equipped with the capability to push the Ford Raptor T1+ to its full potential. The Rallye du Maroc is our last chance before Dakar to push man and machine to the limit and we intend to do just that.”
Rallye du Maroc will serve as a step in the development of the Ford Raptor T1+ ahead of the 2025 Dakar Rally by providing the team a proving ground to refine the utility vehicle under real-world rally conditions.
Ekström will join forces with Sainz for the 2024 Rallye du Maroc, a key event on the rally raid, or open terrain race, calendar. Both drivers will take on the challenging Moroccan terrain in a pair of Ford Raptor T1+ utility vehicles, the purpose-built rally raid racer engineered in collaboration with longtime Ford Performance partner M-Sport to handle the extreme demands of desert racing.
In Related News : The Red Bull Academy Program and Ford announced they are extending the title partnership of the Red Bull Ford Academy Program in for the 2025 season. The continued alliance further demonstrates Ford’s long supported commitment to attracting more diversity across its motorsport’s portfolio alongside wider initiatives that support diversity and inclusion, says the automaker.
Joining the Team for the 2025 F1 Academy season is driver Chloe Chambers, who previously has raced in single seaters in U.S. F4 and W Series, and currently is driving in F1 Academy with Haas and Campos Racing.
In More Related News : Ford and Lincoln brand officials say their strategy of offering customers a choice of powertrains for their vehicles continues to pay off, with company retail sales up 4 percent in the third quarter. This contrasts with overall U.S. retail industry sales, estimated to be flat for the quarter.
Total Ford sales outpaced the industry, rising 1 percent compared with a 2 percent decline for the overall market.
Customers continued to favor hybrid vehicles during the summer months, Ford reports. Sales increased 38 percent to 48,101 in the third quarter, while electric vehicle sales grew 12 percent. These results come before customers can take advantage of the new Ford Power Promise , which includes a complimentary home charger with standard installation at no extra charge, and access to a 24/7 Ford advisor for electric vehicle support.
“Different lifestyles and use cases require unique types of power,” says Andrew Frick, president, Ford Blue and Ford Customer Service Division. “We’ve listened to customers to offer them vehicles with powertrains to meet their specific needs, and their response validates our product strategy.”
Highlights from Ford’s Q3 report include:
- F-150 hybrid sales rose 64 percent in the third quarter to 20,129
- Maverick saw sales rise 22 percent to 16,561.
- Lincoln sales accelerated 26 percent
- Transit van sales total 114,281 through September
The post Ford Enters Two Raptor T1+ Desert Racers to Rallye du Maroc, Dakar Rally appeared first on DBusiness Magazine .
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