'Super' Ford Ranger to take on Dakar Rally: Ultimate off-roader will tackle the world's toughest off-road race against a familiar rival

The showroom struggle between the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux is set to spill into the Saudi Arabian desert. Ford has confirmed that it will enter a Ranger ute in the famous Dakar Rally, a two-week torture test of man and machine.

That will put it in direct competition with the reigning Dakar Rally champions, the Toyota Gazoo Racing off-road team which runs its own racing HiLux. The Ford entry won’t be the same production-class Ranger Raptor that conquered the Finke Desert Race last weekend, instead the company is partnering with two specialist motor racing teams to build the ultimate off-road racing version of the ute.

Ford will turn to two of the most experienced off-road teams - World Rally Championship regulars, M-Sport, and Dakar veterans, Neil Woolridge Motorsport.

Together with Ford Performance’s motorsport division, they will build a Ranger to meet the outright T1+ Class that will pit it against the Toyota team, as well as Audi’s RS e-tron Q hybrid prototypes.

“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, Ford Performance Motorsports’ Global Director.

“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.” 

Ford has confirmed that it will enter a Ranger ute in the famous Dakar Rally.

With that in mind, Rushbrook was candid that the 2024 running of the event - set for January 5-19 - will be a learning experience with Neil Woolridge Motorsport’s current T1+ entry, which is based on the previous generation Ranger. Using the knowledge gained in 2024, Ford will then build an all-new Ranger T1+ machine based on the current model and push for outright victory in 2025.

While Rushbrook said the Dakar Ranger will be more of a prototype racing car than production vehicle, he’s confident that Ford will learn from the rally and find ways to improve future showroom versions of the popular ute.

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

The Dakar Ranger is more of a prototype racing car than production vehicle.

And Rushbrook did hint that Ford is considering introducing a customer racing version of the Ranger Raptor, likely similar to what competed at the Finke Desert Race, to give customers the chance to experience off-road competition.

“Look at what we’ve done in the rally world with R1, R2, R3 and so on,” Rushbrook said.

He added: “It’s an important part of what we do, customer racing.”