Customer programs underpin M-Sport's rallying effort, but it needs to deliver a win for Ford at Dakar
Photography by Red Bull & M-Sport
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
When, you might wonder, was M-Sport’s finest hour? Not that difficult, is it. It has to be 2017 and a historic clean sweep of the World Rally Championship titles.
Or does it?
Without casting the awesome, season-long achievements of Sébastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassia and the whole M-Sport team into the shade, I wonder if we might be looking in the wrong place for an absolute highlight.
Was it M-Sport taking Ford back to the top of the world for the first time in a quarter of a century in 2006? Maybe. Or building a brand-new Focus World Rally Car in a matter of months and winning the Safari Rally in a matter weeks. Another strong contender.
Coming in from the left side of the field is Portugal, 2014. You didn’t see that one coming, did you?
And why would you, Mikko Hirvonen finishing second in the lead factory Ford Fiesta RS WRC wasn’t really anything to write home about. Rewind a few days and look outside the Rally HQ building in Faro and you’ll see 40 Ford Fiestas lined up for the start.
That’s right… 40.
From the RS WRC to RRC, R5, S2000 and R2, almost half the entry were Fiestas
Eleven years ago, M-Sport delivered 47% of an 84-car entry on a round of the World Rally Championship.
As both a sporting and commercial proposition, that’s surely got to be up there as a highlight for the British-based firm? I mean, we’re within a whisker of every other car being Blue Oval badged on one of the most popular WRC rounds in recent history.
Then, as now, M-Sport’s presence in the WRC is underwritten by the strength of its customer program. There’s a Ford for every level and every location in the sport of rallying. Much as M-Sport wants to win every weekend, it’s commercial success which is keeping the WRC show on the road right now.
You could be forgiven for thinking that model could be transferred to the deserts and dunes of the World Rally-Raid Championship. The M-Sport-built Ford Raptor T1+ is the talk of the town right now and privateers are lining up at the door to Dovenby Hall.
M-Sport managing director Malcolm Wilson is encouraged by demand for his new car, but the narrative’s different on this one.
“We’ll have seven cars in Dakar,” Wilson told DirtFish. “That’s four factory cars and three privateers. To be honest, it could have been a lot more, but I need to be mindful of the very clear task we’ve been set by [Ford CEO] Jim Farley.
“He wants to win Dakar. That’s the focus.”
Works drivers, like Carlos Sainz, are the absolute focus for M-Sport at the 2026 Dakar
Works drivers Carlos Sainz, Mattias Ekström, Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie know what’s needed.
“It’s a clear target from everybody within the team,” continued Wilson. “I genuinely believe we were in a good position even this year to challenge [for the win]. Everybody could see the potential of the Raptor as the event progressed – two fastest times in the latter part of the rally.
“Next year we’re going to the event with a lot more experience and we want to be challenging for victory.
“I think there’s great potential for us in getting more Raptors out in the future, but I definitely don’t want to dilute our efforts in terms of trying to win the event.”
Romain Dumas, Jourdan Serderidis and Martin Prokop will drive the other three Raptors in January.
Words:David Evans
Tags: Dakar, M-Sport, Malcolm Wilson, W2RC, WRC
Publish Date November 14, 2025 DirtFish
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