Ford Takes Maiden 2024 Dakar Win with Roma in Empty Quarter Stage 10

Ford Takes Maiden 2024 Dakar Win with Roma in Empty Quarter Stage 10

By Michael Harrison

January 16, 2025 at 01:26 AM

Ford claimed a milestone Dakar Rally stage victory as Nani Roma piloted the Raptor T1+ to win Stage 10, finishing 18 seconds ahead of Toyota's Lucas Moraes. The stage took competitors through Saudi Arabia's Empty Quarter and covered over 500 kilometers to reach the Arabian Gulf.

Off-road racing vehicle climbing sand dune

Off-road racing vehicle climbing sand dune

Roma's win marked Ford's first Dakar stage victory and his personal 26th stage win across cars and bikes categories, though his first since 2015. Starting from 27th position, the Spanish veteran demonstrated impressive pace through the challenging dune sections.

Toyota's Henk Lategan now leads the overall standings by 26 minutes and 46 seconds over Ford's Mattias Ekstrom. Previous leader Yazeed Al Rajhi lost significant time after getting stuck in the dunes, while Nasser Al Attiyah's navigation error cost him around 20 minutes.

In the motorcycle category, Michael Docherty made history as the first Rally 2 competitor since 2022 to win an overall stage, beating Rui Gonçalves by 1 minute 20 seconds. Daniel Sanders maintains the overall lead with a 16-minute advantage over Tosha Schareina.

"Chaleco" Lopez secured his fifth SSV class win of the season, while American Brock Heger holds a comfortable 1 hour 50-minute lead over Xavier de Soultrait in the overall standings.

In the Challenger class, Saudi driver Dania Akeel achieved a remarkable victory, finishing third overall in the day's standings. She joins an exclusive group of female Dakar stage winners alongside Jutta Kleinschmidt, Cristina Gutiérrez, and Sara Price.

"I love driving in the dunes — it reminds me of a boat in the water because of the way you have to jump around the waves," Akeel commented after her historic performance.

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