{"id":35241,"date":"2025-11-07T16:06:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=35241"},"modified":"2025-11-07T16:06:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:06:35","slug":"ford-v-everything-2026-ford-racing-takes-on-major-on-and-off-track-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/ford-v-everything-2026-ford-racing-takes-on-major-on-and-off-track-titles","title":{"rendered":"Ford v Everything: 2026 Ford Racing takes on major on-and-off track titles"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2026 Ford Racing is leaning into the brand\u2019s roots with assaults on major open-wheel and sports car championships including Formula One, NASCAR and the World Endurance Championship and IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship with Mustang.<\/p>\n

But wait, there\u2019s more.<\/p>\n

Ford will also be off-road racing a Raptor T1+ in Saudia Arabia\u2019s Dakar Rally and a production-based Ford Ranger Raptor in Mexico\u2019s Baja 1000, meaning the Ford factory will be taking on the world\u2019s three major international off-road endurance races (Dakar, Baja, King of the Hammers in California) as well as the trifecta of major sports car endurance races (24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida).<\/p>\n

\"Ford<\/p>\n

Ford Ranger Raptor at the Baja 1000 in Mexico.<\/em><\/div>\n

Ford, Ford<\/em><\/p>\n

The assault is confirmation that Ford sees racing as an opportunity to expand its brand \u2014 not just in the traditional on-track races that featured it in the Hollywood blockbuster \u201cFord v Ferrari\u201d \u2014 but with its dirt-kicking SUV\/truck-Raptor models as well. Ford announced this week it has hired one of the world\u2019s premier, all-around factory drivers, Romain Dumas, to lead the off-road effort. A Le Mans-winning Porsche factory driver, Dumas has also raced extensively at Dakar and the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to drive everything,\u201d said the modest Frenchman after the announcement. \u201c(Off-roading is) the most stressful, the most difficult to anticipate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dubbed the \u201cThe Man Who Races Everything\u201d by his peers, Dumas is an apt standard bearer for Ford\u2019s racing brand.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The Ford Raptor T1+ will take on the Dakar Rally in 2026 after finishing third in 2025.<\/em><\/div>\n

Marian Chytka, Ford<\/em><\/div>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of another brand that races comprehensibly across on-track and off-road disciplines,\u201d said veteran racing writer Steven Cole Smith, special projects editor for Hagerty. \u201cFord has always advocated to \u2018race what you make\u2019 and they are carrying that mantra on to SUVs and trucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Big Three championships in both on-track and off-road in its sights, Ford now races across 22 different series. Ford\u2019s ambitions on both terrains is similar in that they mix prototype and production GT racers.<\/p>\n

The Raptor T1+ Dakar entry is similar to Ford’s legendary 1960s Le Mans GT40s \u2014 and the Ford Le Mans Hypercar targeted for Le Mans in 2027 \u2014 in that it is a bespoke race car built specifically for Dakar\u2019s T1+ prototype category.<\/p>\n

\"Romain<\/figure>\n
\n
Romain Dumas will lead a fleet of Ford Raptor T1+ entries at the Dakar Rally.<\/em><\/div>\n

Ford, Ford<\/em><\/div>\n

In the Baja and Hammers races, on the other hand, Ford will enter production versions of, respectively, the Ranger Raptor truck and Bronco SUV to seek class victories. On track, Ford outfits production-based Mustang racers to compete in GT3 and GT4-class racing in events like Daytona and Sebring.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne is a frame chassis \u2026 the other is a pure prototype. You cannot give the same intensity to both cars,\u201d Dumas said of the different driving styles required for his Baja and Dakar steeds.<\/p>\n

He will first tackle the 2025 Baja 1000, which starts Nov. 10, racing the opening leg (a navigator by his side as demanded of tortuous off-road racing) and then handing over to another crew.<\/p>\n

\"Ford<\/figure>\n
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Ford Mustang GT3 at 24 Hours of Le Mans. Le Mans, France, June 2025<\/em><\/div>\n

Alastair Staley, Drew Gibson Photography<\/em><\/div>\n

\u201cRace to road and road to race is our primary mission,\u201d said Ford Racing General Manager Will Ford in an interview this fall. \u201cWe’re not just racing for fun or for managing purposes. We race to make our products better and put the best performance vehicles in the hands of our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n