Nani Roma will get a swan song in the Ford Ranger T1+ before taking over the Ford Raptor T1+ for good starting in August. Due to an injury sustained by his friend Daniel Alonso, Roma was a last-second addition to the Baja España Aragón that began Friday.
Roma helped test the Ford Ranger in 2023, then a collaboration between M-Sport and Neil Woolridge Motorsport that had been in the works since 2022. The car then made its competition début at that year’s Baja Aragón with Roma and Gareth Woolridge, the former finishing ninth, followed by a third at the World Rally-Raid Championship’s Rallye du Maroc. At the Dakar Rally in January, Roma scored a best stage finish of ninth in Stage #11 but was at the bottom of the overall due to mechanical failures.
M-Sport and NWM ended their relationship afterwards as the former, whom Roma and Ford Performance are tied to, focused on developing the Raptor. NWM elected to continue with the Ranger, building an upgraded model for competition in the South African Rally-Raid Championship with Past-Racing as a global partner.
Unveiled in mid-July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Raptor’s first race will be the Hungarian Baja on 8–11 August. As he’ll have to wait a fortnight until then, Roma was asked by Alonso and Past-Racing to fill in at Aragón. M-Sport gave their blessngs, allowing him and co-driver Alex Haro to return to their old confines.
“Daniel Alonso called me and asked me if I was willing to do the Baja, as he is not fully recovered from the injury he suffered a few days ago,” Roma explained. “The objective is to continue to develop the Ranger T1+, which I know very well as it is identical to the one I drove until the last Dakar. Matthew Wilson (M-Sport boss) authorised me to drive, and here we are. It will be a good preparation for both Alex and me ahead of the Hungarian Baja in two weeks’ time, where we will be using the Raptor T1+ for the first time.”
In the Prologue stage on Friday, Roma finished eleventh overall and seventh in the Ultimate class. He is a nine-time winner of the Baja Aragón with five victories in a car (2005, 2009, 2013 to 2015) and four on a bike (1995, 1997, 1999, 2002).
The Baja Aragón is the third round of the 2024 FIA World Baja Cup.
