Mattias Ekstrom joins Ford for 2025 Dakar Rally

Mattias Ekström might not be an Audi driver anymore, but he will still have a familiar face as a team-mate in Carlos Sainz. On Tuesday, Ford Performance and M-Sport announced Ekström as the fourth and final driver of their Ford Raptor T1+ for the 2025 Dakar Rally. Emil Bergkvist will continue as his navigator.

Although he was the last to be announced, a source said Ekström was actually the second driver to be signed. He had been discreetly testing the car in Morocco in the weeks prior.

“Ford and M-Sport have built a vehicle that looks, sounds, and drives awesome and we all have a common ambition to win the Dakar Rally,” Ekström stated. “I have had four tries at Dakar so far and now I can say that I have some experience to be able to aim for the top.

“There is also a lot of knowledge and experience in the team to back up the ambition, starting with the long motorsport heritage of Ford, proven track record of M-Sport, very impressive driver line-up, smart engineers, technicians, and the rest of the team. I look forward to the first competitive outing with the Ford Raptor T1+ at Rallye du Maroc and later at the Dakar Rally. I am in it to win it and I hope we will have very successful and great years ahead of us. I will do everything in my power to make it happen.”

Ekström spent the last three years with Team Audi Sport, where he had Sainz and Stéphane Peterhansel as colleagues. After finishing ninth in the team’s maiden Dakar in 2022, mechanical issues and accidents plagued his next two starts. The 2024 Dakar saw him win the Prologue and Stage #8, but was set back by breakdowns that relegated him to twenty-sixth. He pressed on nonetheless by accompanying Sainz en route to his fourth Dakar win.

Audi shuttered their rally raid programme soon after. Ekström formally split with the manufacturer last week, ending a 23-year partnership that included two DTM titles and the 2016 FIA World Rallycross Championship. In 2023, he became the sporting director for World RX.

The Swede also currently races in Extreme E for McLaren alongside Cristina Gutiérrez, the reigning Dakar winner in the Challenger class. The two sit fifth in points with a runner-up at the first Desert X Prix. Ekström spent the 2023 season at Sainz’s ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team, where he and Laia Sanz—another rally raider—narrowly missed out on the title.

“We have followed Mattias’ career for a long time, from his DTM days to the FIA World Rallycross and now the Dakar Rally,” commented M-Sport’s Matthew Wilson. “He has shown fantastic speed and ability in all forms of motorsport and his performances in off-road racing have been no different. We are really looking forward to working with him and his co-driver Emil, who both will bring with them a vast array of experience.”

Besides Sainz and Ekström, Ford will also field Raptors for Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie. Roma has been involved with the team since 2023 when they had the Ranger, while Guthrie confirmed his seat last week.

The Raptor had won in its competition début at the Hungarian Baja in August with Roma. Its first World Rally-Raid Championship start will be the Rallye du Maroc on 6–11 October. The 2025 Dakar Rally is scheduled for 3–17 January.

“Bringing Mattias Ekström into the Ford Performance family is a big step forward for our Dakar programme,” offered Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook. “Mattias brings a wealth of experience in rally and off-road racing, and his skills add to a formidable team in the Ford Raptor T1+. The Dakar Rally is a test like no other, but we’re confident in our lineup.”