Ford Raptor T1+: Fine-Tuning Ahead of the Dakar Rally
Fast but fragile in Portugal, Ford’s Raptor T1+ heads to Morocco for its most important dress rehearsal yet—the stage that will reveal whether it can graduate from rookie to real Dakar rival.
Ford continues to hone its new-generation Raptor T1+ rally raid contender. Speed was on display in Portugal, but durability was not—and the real test before Dakar will come on the sands of Morocco.
In Portugal, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz managed stage finishes in second and third, but a brutal hit from a rock ended their podium hopes. It was a textbook rally raid scenario: the car may be quick and competitive, yet a single impact can erase an entire week’s work. For Ford, the result was never the ultimate objective. More important was gathering data, trialling new setups and refining the package in preparation for next year’s Dakar.
Developed jointly with M-Sport, the 2026-spec Raptor T1+ has undergone an extensive programme of testing over the past year—Abu Dhabi, South Africa, Baja Aragón, Portugal, plus long sessions in Spain and Morocco. Focus areas have included lowering the centre of gravity, improving weight distribution, revising suspension and differential settings, recalibrating the engine, and even enhancing lateral visibility—a detail that can prove critical in punishing terrain.
The next checkpoint comes in Morocco, October 12–17, when four Raptors will start. This will be the last official World Cup round and the most realistic platform to evaluate both durability and large-scale team operations before Dakar.
Ford still plays the role of newcomer at Dakar. The Raptor must prove itself in real race conditions, which inevitably means inconsistent results in the short term. Portugal showed that outright pace is there, but reliability and damage avoidance remain the biggest challenges. Morocco will be decisive: either Ford arrives at Dakar 2026 as a true contender, or simply as the latest entrant still learning how to survive the desert.
