Ford M-Sport will run it back with the same four drivers at the 2026 Dakar Rally. Carlos Sainz is seeking his fifth Dakar while Nani Roma looks for his second, and both are again joined by Mattias Ekström and Mitch Guthrie. All four will once again race the Ford Raptor T1+.

Sainz and Ekström had migrated to M-Sport from Audi, while Guthrie graduated to Ultimate from Challenger. Roma had already been involved with M-Sport and what was then Ford Performance when they were fielding the Ranger in tandem with Neil Woolridge Motorsport.

Dakar proved to be a mixed bag for the team. The Chrono Stage was especially punishing as Sainz was knocked out of contention by a rollover and terminal rollcage damage while Roma suffered an engine failure. Roma was able to continue, albeit no longer in the overall picture, and managed to win Stage 10.

Ekström and Guthrie were on their own but still scored top-five overall finishes in second and fifth, respectively. It was a solid Ultimate debut for Guthrie, while Ekström notched a stage victory of his own.

Since then, the team has only entered one to two cars at each W2RC round to continue developing the Raptor in racing conditions. Guthrie finished fifth at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, while Sainz and Roma respectively placed fifth and sixth at the South African Safari Rally. For next week’s BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, Sainz is the team’s lone driver.

Besides the quartet, M-Sport also fields Raptors for privateers Martin Prokop and Jourdan Serderidis. Serderidis, an M-Sport client in the WRC, is doing the Rally-Raid Portugal alongside Sainz. Prokop’s M-Sport Raptor uses Ekström’s Dakar chassis, while Guthrie’s Raptor has since been sold.

Featured image credit: DPPI / Red Bull Content Pool