Ford Performance has completed its driver line-up with which it will tackle next year’s Dakar Rally, with Audi exile Mattias Ekström joining the previously unveiled Carlos Sainz, Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie Jr at the M-Sport run squad.
Ekström, who contested three editions of the classic rally raid with Audi, officially became a free agent last week when he left the Ingolstadt brand after 25 years of collaboration which brought him two DTM titles and the FIA World Rallycross Championship crown in 2016.
He will continue his association with navigator Emil Bergkvist and the pair will make their Ford Raptor T1+ debut in the final round of the World Rally-Raid Championship in Morocco, which begins this weekend.
“Joining the Ford Dakar program is really exciting for me,” said Ekström.
“Ford and M-Sport have built a vehicle that looks, sounds, and drives awesome, and we all have a common ambition to win the Dakar Rally. I have had four tries at Dakar so far and now I can say that I have some experience to be able to aim for the top.
Ekström will make his debut in the Raptor in Morocco this weekend
“There is also a lot of knowledge and experience in the team to back up the ambition – starting with the long motorsport heritage of Ford, proven track record of M-Sport, very impressive driver line-up, smart engineers, technicians, and the rest of the team.
“I look forward to the first competitive outing with the Ford Raptor T1+ at Rally du Maroc and later at the Dakar Rally. I am in it to win it and I hope we will have very successful and great years ahead of us. I will do everything in my power to make it happen.”
Matthew Wilson, M-Sport team principal, had courted Ekström, a four-time Dakar Rally stage winner, for a while and believes the Swede’s adaptability gives them a strong chance on the Dakar itself.
“We have followed Mattias’ career for a long time, from his DTM days to the FIA World Rallycross, and now the Dakar Rally,” Wilson said.
Wilson was keen to snap the Swede up to drive one of the new Fords
“He has shown fantastic speed and ability in all forms of motorsport and his performances in off-road racing have been no different. We are really looking forward to working with him and his co-driver Emil, who both will bring with them a vast array of experience.”
Having won the Challenger class of the Dakar Rally back in January, Ekström’s fellow newcomer to the Ford M-Sport stable Guthrie Jr also arrives with high expectations. The Californian, who sticks with navigator Kellon Walch for the step up to T1U, will only make his debut in Saudi Arabia and instead contest the Rallye du Maroc in his regular Red Bull Junior Team USA Taurus.
“Ford is such a well-known brand and synonymous with the United States,” Guthrie Jr. said. “To now be in the T1+ category, driving for Ford [is] a dream come true for me. I can’t wait to race against the best of the best.”
X-raid Mini also reveals its plans
The announcement of Ekström and Guthrie Jr at Ford seemingly marks the end of the W2RC silly season which took a further twist last week as X-raid Mini revealed its plans for the 2025 campaign.
The JCW Rally T1+ is the first petrol-powered Dakar challenger from X-raid
Having previously headed up the Audi project via his Q Motorsport arm, Sven Quandt returns full-time to X-raid which will field an updated JCW Rally T1+ at next year’s Dakar. The JCW Rally 3.0i is the first petrol-powered car in the X-raid family, with the previous diesel edition now phased out.
After an initial test on a military training area in Trier, the new car will also make its competitive debut in Morocco.
Leading its assault will be Guillaume de Mevius, who has made the surprise switch from Overdrive Racing with whom he finished second on the Dakar Rally this year at the wheel of a Toyota Hilux DKR T1+. The Belgian will be partnered by multiple Dakar-winning navigator Mathieu Baumel.
Joining De Mevius at X-raid is Guerlain Chicherit, who returns to the team where he started his rally raid career, while up-and-coming Portuguese stars João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro will drive a third JCW Rally car.
