Pau Navarro to race Ford Ranger T1+ at Morocco, 2025 Dakar Rally

Past-Racing has signed Pau Navarro to drive the Ford Ranger T1+ at the Rallye du Maroc and 2025 Dakar Rally. The latter will be his second Dakar in the Ultimate category and fifth overall.

Navarro made his Ultimate début at the 2023 Rallye du Maroc in a Toyota Hilux T1.1, with which he finished twenty-sixth after suffering a broken driveshaft. He stepped up into a Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus from X-raid Team for the 2024 Dakar, only to retire three stages in when he rolled the car and broke his wrist. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge saw improvement when he finished fifth outright.

Although registered for the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship, he has not run a race since Abu Dhabi. Instead, he returned to the Challenger and SSV categories to compete in the Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship and FIA European Baja Cup for junior formula outfit GRS Team. Driving the Demon Car DT3 (a Challenger vehicle with a Can-Am engine), he placed fourth in GRS’ first European Baja race in Extremadura.

“I’m grateful to Daniel Alonso for this opportunity, which represents the biggest step forward in my sports career,” said Navarro. “Being part of Past on a 100% Spanish team is an honour. Everyone here strives for excellence in what they do; they invest in young drivers and they have an impressive track record in rallies. Being on this team is also a great responsibility for me, which I take on with full commitment because Past wants to break into the world of rally raids and I want to give my best during this expansion phase of the team.”

Past-Racing is primarily a rally team and close partner of World Rally Championship operation M-Sport, who co-designed the Ranger with Neil Woolridge Motorsport. Last November, Alonso (the team owner) entered the South African Rally-Raid Championship’s Waterberg 400 in collaboration with NWM. In December, Past launched a rental programme for those wishing to do W2RC or FIA Baja races in the Ranger.

For 2024, NWM expanded their alliance with Past to fill the void left by M-Sport, who went on their own to develop the Ford Raptor T1+. The new NWM Ford Ranger T1+ has new bodywork based on the production model, though most of the internals are the same as the 2023 car.

“So far, I’ve only sat in the Ford once while it was stationary, but I already have a very good impression of the car,” Navarro continued. “The Ranger has been updated inside and out. The aesthetics are more aggressive, the cabin is spacious, and visibility is great. I can’t wait to start it up at the Rallye du Maroc, where we can do a real race test alongside my new co-driver Alejandro López and the rest of the team. I’ve always loved new beginnings, but this one excites me even more because of the trust Daniel has shown me since we started talking about the possibility of doing Dakar.”

NWM and M-Sport fielded two Rangers for Nani Roma and Gareth Woolridge throughout its début season in 2023 and at the 2024 Dakar, with Roma scoring a third in Morroco. The Rangers’ maiden Dakar last January was overshadowed by mechanical failures, though Roma and Woolridge both scored top-ten stage finishes in the closing days. The team returned at the W2RC’s BP Ultimate Rally-Raid in April with Ultimate newcomer Eduard Pons, who retrired with an alternator failure.

Although Roma is now with M-Sport Ford, he rejoined Past for the Baja España Aragón in July after Alonso suffered a late injury. He narrowly missed the Ultimate podium with a fourth.

“It’s an honour for us at PAST to have Pau Navarro for the 2025 Dakar,” offered Alonso. “Pau is a young driver with exceptional talent and an impressive career despite his young age. His addition to our team not only reinforces our commitment to developing young talent but also marks an important milestone in our expansion into the world of rally raids.

“The decision to sign Pau was easy. From the very beginning, his passion, dedication, and professionalism convinced us that he was the right person to push our Ford Ranger T1+ to its limits in the top category of the Dakar. His previous experience and ability to quickly adapt to new challenges give us the confidence that he will deliver an outstanding performance in this rally.”

The Rallye du Maroc is scheduled for 6–11 October while the 2025 Dakar Rally runs on 3–17 January.