M-Sport Ford star Carlos Sainz has retired from this year’s Dakar at the end of the 48-hour chrono stage in Bisha.
The four-time winner rolled his Ford Raptor on the first day of the 48-hour test on Sunday. While he made it to the overnight halt and through the second half of the chrono stage on Monday, his slim hopes of a fifth victory were extinguished when the Spaniard made it back to the bivouac.
A statement from the team read: “Due to damage to the safety cage of vehicle #225 (Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz) sustained during the accident in the first part of the 48 Chrono of the 2025 Dakar Rally and in line with FIA regulations, it has been decided to retire the vehicle.”
Sainz’s team-mate Mattias Ekström is keeping the Ford flag flying, sitting in fifth place just 13 minutes off leader Henk Lategan.
Describing the accident, Sainz told DirtFish: “I just rolled in the dune. It was really deep and I miscalculated how deep it was. This is a race that can catch you at any minute.”
