Targets met as Ford and local motorsport champions pass Dakar test on debut

Ford made its Dakar Rally debut in 2024 and fielded two Ranger bakkies, competing in the top-tier Ultimate/T1 class.

With the Blue Oval entering the world's toughest endurance race, the team opted for two crews to gauge the conditions and use the real-time conditions as the basis for when/if the number of crews should increase in future.

Regardless, the two T1+ Rangers, designed and produced by South African company Neil Woolridge Motorsport, in partnership with Ford Performance and M-Sport, made a strong impact on the 2024 Dakar, with Spain's Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro commandeering car #210 and South Africa's Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer in the #225 T1+ Ranger.