Ford Ranger Raptor targets Dakar after Finke Desert victory

Australia’s most iconic off-road race, the Finke Desert Race, was recently won outright by Toby Price in his TSCO Trophy truck in a total time of 3 hours, 21 minutes and 46.6 seconds, which was just 0.4 of a second slower than the record time he set in 2022.

At the other end of the many categories that compete at Finke, a Ford Ranger Raptor driven by father and son team of Brad and Byam Lovell took out the Class 7 production category in 5 hours and 56 minutes.

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The Lovells were competing in the same factory team car that they won the production class of the infamous Baja 1000 race in, earlier this year. This Raptor was built to compete by Kelly Racing in Melbourne, and supported by Walkinshaw Performance in the Finke race.

Following that victory, Ford Performance (FP) has announced its next off-road racing challenge will be the gruelling Dakar Rally to be held in Saudi Arabia in the first week of 2024.

Unlike the factory team’s efforts in the Baja and Finke races, the Dakar Raptor will compete in the top-tier T1+ class, competing with the might of the factory Toyotas, Audis and other prototype off-road machines.

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The T1+ Raptors will be prepared by FP partners M-Sport and South Africa’s Neil Woolridge Motorsports, who have campaigned Ford Rangers at the highest levels of cross-country rally raid events in previous years.

"To lead the charge at one of the ultimate global off-road events – the Dakar Rally – has been a goal of ours,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports.

“We cannot underestimate the enormity of the challenge ahead of us. We need to finish and learn first with Ranger T1+ and partners like M-Sport and NWM, who bring their expertise to bear. Together, we can do amazing things in the sand dunes of the Arabian Peninsula.”

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The joint Ford Performance, M-Sport and NWM team has implemented a series of development phases through 2023 and continues testing with the Ranger T1+, based on the previous generation global Ranger, with a 3.5-litre EcoBoost engine.

Test races are expected to include Spain’s Baja España Aragón and Morocco’s Rally du Maroc rallies in July and October, respectively, before tackling the Dakar Rally next year.

The Raptor as it appeared in Alice Springs for the Finke gave clues to Ford Performance’s Dakar aspirations, with the vehicle wrap containing tiny details showing camels and co-ordinates that pointed to the Saudi deserts.

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These were among several so-called ‘Easter Eggs’ Ford hid among the rally car that paid homage to the Blue Oval’s off-road heritage in the past and future. Ford performance is obviously hoping that future includes a Dakar title or two.

The 2024 Dakar Rally takes place in Saudi Arabia over two weeks from January 5-19. The Dakar is considered to be the toughest challenge in off-road motorsports on the planet. Ironically, the only Australian to have ever won the Dakar Rally is Finke winner Toby Price, who has taken the Dakar crown twice, both times on KTM motorcycles.

With Price’s recent racing being primarily on four wheels, and rumours that his two-wheel racing career might be coming to a close - possibly as soon as after the 2024 Dakar race - it would be nice to see an Aussie back on top in a Ranger Raptor. We can only hope so.