Mattias Ekström is switching to Ford after leaving Audi and will contest the 2025 Dakar Rally – The four drivers for the Ford Raptor T1+ have now been confirmed
Five days after parting ways with Audi, it is clear what the future holds for Mattias Ekström: the Swede is switching to Ford Performance and will contest the 2025 Dakar Rally in a Ford Raptor T1+. This was announced by Ford on Tuesday. His co-driver is Emil Bergkvist, as in Audi.
Ekström will be the fourth driver after Carlos Sainz sen., Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie jun., who was only announced last week. At the age of 46, the Swede, who was firmly associated with Audi for 23 years, is changing brands and swapping the four rings for the blue oval.
“Bringing Mattias Ekström into the Ford Performance family is a big step forward for our Dakar program,” says Ford Motorsport Director Mark Rushbrook. ”Mattias brings a wealth of experience from rally and off-road racing and his skills complement an impressive team in the Ford Raptor T1+.”
The two-time DTM champion and 2016 World RX champion says: “Ford and M-Sport have built a car that looks, sounds and drives fantastic, and we all have the common goal of winning the Dakar Rally.”
“The team has a wealth of experience and expertise, which underlines our ambitions. It has the long [rally] tradition at Ford, the successful track record of M-Sport and top-class drivers, engineers and technicians.”
Ekström will drive the Raptor for the first time at the Morocco Rally from October 5 to 11. It is the traditional dress rehearsal for the Dakar Rally, which starts on January 3, 2025 and passes through Saudi Arabia.
Victory is the goal
He has big plans with Ford: “I’m here to win and I hope we will have a very successful and great year. I will do everything in my power to make that happen.” At 46 years old, he is still comparatively young for the Dakar Rally – teammate Sainz is 62, Roma 52.
Rushbrook adds: “The Dakar is a test like no other, but we are confident in our line-up.”
Matthew Wilson, M-Sport’s development driver, is looking forward to the new addition: “We have followed Mattias’ career for a long time, from his time in the DTM to the FIA World Rallycross and the Dakar Rally. He has shown fantastic speed and skill in all forms of motorsport.“
”This also applies to his achievements in off-road racing. We are very much looking forward to working with him and his co-driver Emil, who both bring a wealth of experience to the team.”
The Ford Raptor T1+ will compete against the Dacia Sandrider, among others, which the Renault group is entering in collaboration with Prodrive. It’s a battle of the concepts: while Dacia relies on a V6 turbo engine, the US group is bringing classic V8 naturally-aspirated power from five liters of displacement to the starting line.