Mitch Guthrie is the latest driver to graduate from Challenger to Ultimate as he joins Ford Performance for the 2025 Dakar Rally, where he will drive the new Ford Raptor T1+ from M-Sport.
Guthrie narrowly missed out on the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship in what is then the T3 class, winning twice at the Sonora Rally and Desafío Ruta 40 before losing to Seth Quintero in the final race by just five points. The Americans and former team-mates will renew their friendly feud in 2025 as Quintero currently races for rival Toyota Gazoo Racing in the Ultimate class.
After the 2023 season, Guthrie had his first taste of the premier category when he drove a Ford Ranger T1+—the predecessor to the Raptor—as part of the W2RC Next Gen Tryouts.
“Since I was younger, I’ve always been interested in Ford. Originally, when I was going to school and before I could even drive, I saw the Raptor come out and it was my dream car,” Guthrie recalled. “Eventually, thankfully, I was able to buy one in 2019. I still have it and still really enjoy it. Ford is such a well-known brand and synonymous with the United States, so that was of course a dream of mine to be part of the brand. To now be in the T1+ category, driving for Ford, it’s all coming full circle and is really a dream come true for me. I’m really excited to be part of the Ford family.”
Despite running the full 2023 W2RC, Guthrie has only entered the Dakar Rally in 2024. He had been leading the Challenger class during the second half of the rally before a disconnected turbocharger hose and gearbox failure on the final stage dropped him to second.
Rather than try for the World Championship again, he opted to focus on desert racing in America with Polaris. In February, he finished second in the Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship at King of the Hammers. Other races include the Mint 400 and Best In The Desert’s Silver State 300 and Vegas to Reno.
2025 will be Guthrie’s fifth Dakar Rally, his début coming in 2020, and the thirteenth for his co-driver Kellon Walch. The latter first raced the Dakar on a bike in 2005 before becoming a navigator for Americans like BJ Baldwin, Robby Gordon, and Austin Jones. After a year with Guillaume de Mévius, Walch and Guthrie joined up in 2023.
“We’re excited to welcome Mitch Guthrie to the Ford Performance family,” began Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook. “The difficult terrain and conditions in off-road racing demand everything from a driver and Mitch’s achievements speak for themselves. He will be a great addition to the team, and we can’t wait to see him push the limits of the Ford Raptor T1+ as we take on one of the most gruelling races on the planet in Dakar.”
The Ford Raptor T1+ was unveiled in July, replacing the Ranger. Nani Roma, the inaugural driver for M-Sport’s rally raid programme, won the Hungarian Baja in the Raptor’s maiden race. Four-time Dakar champion and defending winner Carlos Sainz joined the team in May.
M-Sport plans to field four Raptors at Dakar. The fourth seat’s occupant has not been revealed, though Sainz’s old Audi team-mate Mattias Ekström has been involved with testing and is expected to formally join the organisation in the near-future.
The 2025 Dakar Rally will take place on 3–17 January.