Matt Wilson, Ford M-Sport: the goal is victory at the 2025 Dakar

Experience is essential to face the most grueling off-road race in the world and it is no coincidence that at the head of the Ford team involved in the Dakar we find Matt Wilsonson of M-Sport founder Malcom and former driver of Wrc. After last year’s announcement, the dream has taken shape and the presence of the stars and stripes team at the bivouac is impressive, with a line-up of first-rate vehicles and drivers. We talked about it with Matt Wilson, the team principal.

What drove Ford to enter the field with an official team on an extreme race like the Dakar?
​”The idea was to bring the Raptor brand on a global scale and what better scenario than the Dakar, the toughest race in the world? Not only that, it was also an opportunity to create a Raptor capable of competing in the top Rally Raid category “.

It is a relatively young project. Can you tell us the stages?
​”It all started three years ago with the visit of Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, to M-Sport. The company wanted to race in the Dakar and was looking for the right partner. The timing was perfect. From that moment on things moved quickly. The first phase was to study the car according to the FIA ​​technical regulations. Having decided on the type of powertrain, we followed the design. experience was fundamental to collect data and points of reference, but also to better develop the entire logistics and operational part”.

Since last April the work has been incessant…
​”The brand new Raptor T1+ was born 8 months ago and from that moment a tight test program began: first in Europe and then in Morocco for a total of 19,000 km. The first real comparison was the Morocco Rally”.

What is the main challenge?
​”The race itself. We know how tough it is, especially the first year, which is why it is so iconic and legendary. It’s the first event of the year, it lasts more than two weeks and the difficulties are known.”

With a name like Ford and a line-up of excellent drivers, it’s impossible to make mistakes…
​”The pressure is very high, but this is true in every motorsport discipline at the highest levels. Ford wants to win, M-Sport wants to win. We are the first to put pressure on ourselves.”

Carlos Sainz declared that the Dakar can only be tackled at maximum strength.
​”We ​​do not hide the final objective, aware of the difficulties of the debut. Our commitment is maximum, also because the Dakar is a myth, as is the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Daytona 500. They are unique events of their kind: you can do all the preparation in the world and a small detail can compromise a huge effort. The project is ambitious, we want to win and if it doesn’t happen, it certainly won’t be due to a lack of effort on our part.”

What added value did Sainz Sr bring to the project?
​”We ​​had already worked with him in the past and the respect that exists between him and M-Sport, especially with my father Malcom, is incredible. What do I admire in him? His determination, his strength, his experience and thirst for victory despite a stellar career. From day one he showed an enthusiasm, a desire to get involved which was contagious for the whole team.”

Sainz was fundamental to the development and with him Nani Roma.
​”Nani is a legend of the Dakar, having won in 2 and 4 wheels. He was the first driver we started working with. His contribution to the development of the project is priceless.”

And then Mattias Ekstrom.
​”With three years in Audi, we can say that he is still a “rookie” of the Dakar (he smiles, ed). Mattias is a motorsport icon. He brings a varied background in the racing world and coming from the asphalt, he has a great attention to detail, to data analysis.”

And finally Mitch Guthrie.
“When we decided to field a fourth Raptor, the choice of Mitch seemed very natural. He grew up in the Red Bull cantera, he’s American and we have a great feeling.”

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the vehicle?
“The strong points are the kilometers traveled so far. We hope there are no weak points. We wouldn’t have done our job well. However, we are aware that the race itself with its pitfalls will show us the points that we should refine.”

One could say happy at the final finish line in Shubaytah, if…
“We finish on the top step of the podium.”