Ford Elevates Dakar to Centerpiece of Off‑Road Push, With Four Raptors in the Top 10

Overview

• Farley frames Dakar as Ford’s modern Le Mans moment and says becoming the “Porsche of off‑road” requires an outright win.
• At the rally’s midpoint, Ford’s factory-backed entries sit second, third, fifth and seventh overall, ahead of Toyota’s contenders.
• Five-time winner Nasser Al Attiyah leads for Dacia, underscoring that Ford’s stated objective of victory remains in progress.
• Ford has restructured Ford Racing with a mandate that extends to road vehicles and embedded engineers to transfer Dakar learnings to products like Ranger Raptor and Bronco.
• Senior leadership is on the ground in Saudi Arabia as Ford pursues a multi-front program that includes Dakar, Le Mans and a return to Formula 1 as Red Bull’s engine partner.