In partnership with the UK-based busin🅺ess – and South Africa’s Neil Woolridge Motorsport (MWM) – the Blue Oval will tackle next January’s gruelling event with a purpose-built T1+ class vehicle.

This will pitch the 3.5-litre V6-ဣpowered car against the might of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Hilux pick-up which has secured top honours in 2022 and again this year wit🐟h Qatar driver Nasser Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver, Mathieu Baumel,

Bosses at Ford Performance Motorsports – Ford’s official competition arm – have stressed the first visit to the competition in Saudi Arabia is to make it to the finish so as to enhance ‘vehicle development, serꩵvicing and event management’.

"To lead the charge at one of the ultimate global off-road events – the Dakar Rallyꦛ – has been a goal of ours,” said Mark Rushbrook, the Global Director a💞t 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 partn🙈ers 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.”

Test races are expected to include Spain’s Baja España Aragón Rally in July and Morocco’s Rally du Maroc three months later before the sq𓂃uad makes its 🌄plans to travel to the Dakar Rally.

“Our first time in Da♍kar will be a learning adventure that will help inform how we compete in the future,” continued Rushbrook. “But as with all racing, 🐈we’re not just racing to win, we’re also racing to help build better products for our customers.”

Ford and Ford Performance already have close ties with M-Sport as the Cockermouth operation leads its efforts in the FIA World Rally Championship with the Puma Rally1, as well as WRC2 with the Fiesta Rally2 and the one-make Ford Fiesta Rally3 FIA Junior World Rally Championship. It is also t﷽he engine builder for the Mus🎃tang GT3 program.

“The Dakar Rally is truly among the pinnacle of global off-road racing events,” said Malcolm Wilson, M-Sport’s managing director. “We’ve achieved great success over the years with Ford in the World Rally Cham🍌pionship and can’t wait to apply this same level ofꦯ focus, energy and effort to competing with Ranger in Dakar.”

NWM, meanwhile, has played ‘a pivotal role since the infancy of the Rally-Raid Ranger’ at its facility in Pietermaritzburg, helping to develop and build existi♔ng competition-ready Rangers.