Carlos Sainz Sr will take no further part in the 2025 edition of Dakar Rally after sustaining heavy damage to his Ford Raptor during the 48-hour Stage 2.
Sainz’s car rolled over and landed on its roof after a dune jump 327km into Sunday’s test near Bisha in Saudi Arabia. Although the Spaniard was able to return to the bivouac and finish the stage on Monday, the FIA conducted checks on his car later in the evening to determine whether he can take part in the remainder of the event.
Following the investigation, the technical stewards decided that Sainz cannot continue any further due to damage to the car’s roll cage structure.
Any deformation that exceeds the limit set by the regulations could have serious repercussions in the event of a repeat accident - and the structure may not be safe enough to protect the driver and the co-driver inside the cabin.
According to the regulations, no repairs can be made to that part, and Ford issued a statement confirming the reason for the withdrawal:
“Due to the damage sustained to the safety cage of vehicle #225 [Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz] during the accident in the first part of the 48-hour stage of the Dakar Rally 2025 and in accordance with FIA regulations, it has been decided to withdraw the vehicle,” it said.
The retirement brings a premature end to Sainz’s first Dakar participation with newcomer Ford. The four-time Dakar winner had already dropped an hour and a half to stage winner Rokas Baciuska (Overdrive Toyota) and felt his chances of a victory were over even before he was forced out of the rally.
The DNF is also a big blow to Ford in its first full-fledged factory appearance in Dakar, with Sainz’s team-mate Nani Roma having already fallen out of contention on Monday with an engine problem.
However, Roma will be able to resume the rally in Stage 3 on Tuesday after conducting necessary repairs to his Ford Raptor.
The American manufacturer’s best runner is now Mattias Ekstrom, who sits fifth and 13 minutes down on overall leader Henk Lategan of Toyota.
