Wraps come off of Ford's 2025 Rally Raid Series challenger
A total of three vehicles will be fielded come the newly scheduled season opener on 27 and 28 June.
Return of sponsor Castrol has seen the NWM-made Ranger adopting a retro livery for 2025. Images: Charl Bosch
Ford Motor Company Southern Africa has resumed its almost three decade long partnership with Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) with the unveiling of its latest Ranger ahead of its this year's South African Rally Raid series.
Supposed to have started in March with the Vryheid 400 in KwaZulu-Natal, an event called off due to persistent bad weather, the prolonged delay to the season opener, now set to be round two at Thabazimbi at the end of June, has netted the NWM team additional days testing to be worry-free before the 2025 season kicks-off.
New looks
Debuting a retro Castrol livery as part of its renewed sponsorship with the lubricant brand after last year competing with Shell backing, the officially titled Castrol NWM Ford team will race three vehicles, two in the premier FIA T1+ Ultimate class, and one in the second-tier T1+ Ultimate division that conforms to South African and not FIA specifications.
ALSO READ: The workings of a Rally-Raid team: Inside Ford-backed NWM
Shown at the Blue Oval's Technical Training Centre outside its Silverton factory in Pretoria on Thursday (24 April), the reveal involved the latter class vehicle that mainly differs from the FIA specification Ranger by using a different engine management system.
New faces
In effect, this makes local models ineligible for the competing in the Dakar Rally, with the opposite being applicable to the pair of FIA T1+ models which will again once be piloted this year by former champions Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer, and multiple Brazilian cross country series champions, Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea.
New to the NWM stable though are Wors Prinsloo and co-driver Andre Vermeulen, who will drive the local specification Ranger T1+.
'Motorsport is a process of continuous evolution, and we have taken the lessons from last year and improved the package from front to back.
'The team has done a lot of work during the off-season to refine and enhance the cars, making them more robust and more capable,' team owner and multiple off-road champion, Neil Woolridge, said.
Ready for battle
As before, both FIA and local spec Ranger T1+ will derive motivation from the 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine, mated to a Sadev-sourced six-speed sequential gearbox.
Build and developed at NWM's workshop in Pietermaritzburg, the three-car team will again face-off against arch rivals, Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, and the semi-works supported Hilux Rally Raid outfit come the season opener on 27 and 28 June.
'We are confident that the team will be in a position to fight for race wins and the championship once again this year,' Woolridge concluded.
As with previous models, the T1+ is only made in left-hand-drive as a way of selling it to other markets.
Aside from its sponsorship with Castrol, who has been a NWM backer for years until the short-lived deal inking with Shell last year, the 2025 season will also see bp come on-board as fuel supplier.
Associate sponsors include Vedacit, Ford Credit, Mastercraft, Sparco, Brembo, NTN, Veldskoen and Tiger Wheel & Tyre.
Revised calendar
With it being unknown as to whether Vryheid 400 will be rescheduled for later in the year, the rest of the Rally Raid calendar for 2025 is as follows;
Rd 2: Thabazimbi – 27/28 June
Rd 3 and 4: Parys – 15/16 August
Rd 5: Louvain Farm – 19/20 September
Rd 6: Legends Adventure Farm – 3/4 October
Rd 7: Sun City – 8/9 November
NOW READ: Stranglehold broken as Ford takes 2023 Rally-Raid title
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