RENO, Nev. – After proving itself on the world's toughest rally-raid stages, the Ford Raptor T1+ is coming home.
Ford Racing will make the North American competition debut of its purpose-built Ford Raptor T1+ at the 30th anniversary Casey Folks Vegas to Reno – "The Other Way," with American duo Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Kellon Walch behind the wheel. The historic entry marks the first time the Dakar-born machine has competed on American soil, bringing the pinnacle of Ford's global off-road racing program to the longest point-to-point off-road race in the United States.
The moment carries added significance as Ford celebrates 125 years of racing. Built to conquer the Dakar Rally and the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship, the Ford Raptor T1+ is the ultimate Raptor, representing the highest expression of Ford's off-road engineering. Now, America's Race Team brings that technology home, where generations of Ford trucks and desert racers have built the legacy that helped shape the Raptor nameplate.
For more than three decades, Vegas to Reno has stood as one of North America's defining desert races. Stretching more than 500 miles across Nevada's unforgiving terrain, the event demands the same combination of speed, durability, navigation and endurance that defines rally raid competition. While the terrain differs from the dunes of Saudi Arabia, the challenge remains the same: survive the desert, trust the machine, and keep moving forward.
Few teams are better suited for that challenge than Guthrie Jr. and Walch.
Kellon Walch preparing for qualifying.
The American pairing enters Vegas to Reno following a breakthrough 2026 Dakar Rally campaign, where they emerged as one of the event's standout crews. Together, Guthrie Jr. and Walch captured a stage victory, earned multiple stage podium finishes, and consistently challenged the front of the Ultimate field while helping showcase the growing capability of the Ford Raptor T1+ against the world's best rally-raid competitors. Guthrie also became the first American to capture a stage win, with Walch's navigation playing a critical role throughout the rally.
Their success is part of the rapid rise of the Ford Raptor T1+ program. Following a podium finish in its Dakar debut in 2025, Ford Racing returned in 2026 with six stage victories, a second- and third-place overall finish, multiple all-Ford stage podiums, and factory and customer teams competing at the front of the field throughout the event. The momentum established in Dakar now carries into the vehicle's first competitive appearance on American soil.
“I'm really excited for this,” said Guthrie. “It’s something we've been wanting to do with the T1+ for a long time - bring it from overseas and show everyone in the USA what it's all about. Vegas To Reno is a race I've done for probably 10 years now. I love this race: it’s a fun course that I think will suit the T1+ well.”
“It's a little extension of our testing, also,” he added. “The team has been out here testing in Nevada, and now we're bringing it to the race to get another 500 miles on it. It's in full Dakar spec, so we're able to do a little bit of both where we're bringing it out here to the States and we're getting some testing for Dakar 2027. I’m just excited to be here. An American driver at an American race in my American truck, having a good time.”
Competing in Vegas to Reno also reinforces the role of American desert racing within Ford Racing's global off-road strategy. The same philosophy that drives the Ford Raptor T1+ through Dakar—developing technology in the harshest environments before applying those lessons across the broader Raptor lineup—continues in North America. Whether racing production-based Raptors in stock classes or purpose-built machines at the highest levels of rally raid, every mile contributes to Ford's pursuit of tougher, more capable vehicles.
As the Ford Raptor T1+ charges into its first American desert race, it does so with two American competitors, an American manufacturer celebrating 125 years of racing, and a vehicle built to carry Ford's off-road ambitions from the world's toughest race back to one of America's most iconic.
