Summary

Ford Racing Season Launch - Michigan Central Station (January 15, Detroit)

• Ford Racing held its annual Season Launch event for the first time in Detroit at the Michigan Central Station in front of a capacity crowd. 

• Multiple public unveils occurred at the evening event including: Mustang Dark Horse SC, Oracle Red Bull Racing and VISA Cash App Racing Bulls liveries, Hypercar engine, driver lineup and design tease as well as a celebration of Ford Racing’s 2026 Off-Road Racing program. 

World Rally-Raid Championship - Dakar Rally (January 3 - 17 – Saudi Arabia) 

• Ford Racing delivered a double podium finish at the 2026 Dakar Rally, with the Ford Raptor T1+ finishing second and third overall against the world’s toughest rally-raid competition.

GT Winter Series (January 17-18 –Portimão) 

• Haupt Racing Team helped Mustang GT3 to two podiums in three races, placing second in both to kick-off the 2026 global racing season.

IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (January 17-18 – Daytona International Speedway)

• Sean Quinlan of Stephen Cameron Racing earned a third-place GSX class podium with the Mustang GT4.

Details

Ford Racing Season Launch - Michigan Central Station (January 15, Detroit)

• Ford Racing held its annual Season Launch event for the first time in Detroit at the Michigan Central Station in front of a capacity crowd. 

• Several public unveils occurred at the evening event including: Mustang Dark Horse SC, Oracle Red Bull Racing and VISA Cash App Racing Bulls liveries, Hypercar engine, driver lineup and design tease, the tease of the Dark Horse SC entering NASCAR Cup competition in 2027 as well as a celebration of Ford Racing’s 2026 Off-Road Racing program. 

• The event was hosted by celebrity Ford F-150 Raptor R owner Dax Shepard while local musical artist Big Sean closed the evening with a concert. 

• Those in attendance at the soldout event included drivers and management from race teams and series across the Ford Racing portfolio of competitors, Ford executives, Ford employees, international and domestic media as well as the general public. 

World Rally-Raid Championship - Dakar Rally (January 3 - 17 – Saudi Arabia)

• Ford Racing delivered a double podium finish at the 2026 Dakar Rally, with the Ford Raptor T1+ finishing second and third overall against the world’s toughest rally-raid competition.

• The program secured six stage wins across the event, with three of four factory drivers earning stage victories (Ekström four, Nani Roma one, Mitch Guthrie one).

• The final stage win by Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist secured P3 overall, marking Ford’s second consecutive Dakar podium finish for the pairing.

• Nani Roma’s P2 overall result marked his first Dakar podium in seven years.

• Ford’s customer racing program delivered multiple stage podiums, including second-place stage finishes from Romain Dumas and Martin Prokop, contributing to two all-Ford Raptor T1+ stage podiums.

• The next stop for the World Rally-Raid Championship season will be the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, March 17-22.

GT Winter Series (January 17-18 – Portimão)

• The No. 64 Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3 earned second-place podiums in both the  single-driver sprint and two-driver endurance race format.

• Kiano Blum, who started the weekend from overall pole position, was a part of both podiums; the full line-up included Emil Gjerdrum.

• The No. 74 of Max Cuccarese and Alain Valente recorded a top-five result in each of the three races, their best fourth overall in Sunday’s final race. 

• Haupt Racing Team is campaigning a limited series schedule, with the next race scheduled for February 12-15.

IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (January 17-18 – Daytona International Speedway)

• The No. 19 Stephen Cameron Racing Ford Mustang GT4, driven by Sean Quinlan, was awarded a third-place GSX class podium and two Bronze Cup medals to kick-off the team’s 2026 campaign.

• The Bronze Cup in IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge recognizes top-performing Bronze-rated drivers in each class.

• Stephen Cameron Racing has earned one series podium in consecutive seasons at Daytona.

• Quinlan placed fourth in GSX during the first race of the weekend.