FPT is Ready to the Dakar 2026 Challenge

Let’s pick up where we left off with FPT at the Dakar: on the podium. You can find the results of the 47th edition HERE. FPT is gearing up for Dakar 2026, once again confirming its role as Technical Partner of the de Rooy FPT teams, led by drivers Aleš Loprais and Vaidotas Žala.

This year, FPT’s involvement in the world’s toughest rally is even stronger: beyond the official team, an impressive 20 out of 46 trucks competing in the race will be powered by FPT engines, confirming the Brand as the preferred power solution at the Dakar Rally.

At the Dakar 2026, the Cursor 13 is once again in the spotlight

The de Rooy FPT crews will take on the world’s toughest rally aboard an IVECO Powerstar powered by the CURSOR 13, FPT’s iconic engine and the ultimate ally for an extreme challenge like the Dakar Rally.

The teams can rely on even higher performance trucks, thanks to a series of upgrades designed to further enhance performance, reliability, and control in the most demanding conditions. Alongside these performance advancements, the trucks are debuting a renewed look and feel, featuring a new livery where the FPT logo stands out proudly and prominently on the engine grille.

This year, the crews chose the Moroccan desert to put the vehicle to the test under extreme conditions, including sand, variable terrain, and temperature swings. It served as a crucial proving ground to evaluate the vehicle’s performance, thermal resilience, dynamic response, and fuel consumption in real-world conditions, while also strengthening the cohesion of both the on-board crew and the technical support team.

A Historic Duo

FPT and Dakar represent a historic duo: through this partnership, the brand reinforces its commitment to innovation and its ability to transfer the expertise gained in the most extreme environments to solutions for customers worldwide. Being the Technical Partner of the de Rooy FPT teams allows FPT to put its engineering skills to the test in the world´s most iconic rally raid, strengthening the company´s role as a technological benchmark in extreme conditions, and reaffirming the passion for innovation that has always defined its engines.

Behind the scenes, FPT Customer Service stands as a driving force, ensuring trucks deliver an outstanding 99% uptime, no matter how extreme the conditions get. Each truck is equipped with a dedicated telematics kit that delivers continuous support, allowing the driver to stay fully focused on the race, confident that the engine is constantly monitored and performing at its best. Relying on experience from over 400,000 connected engines, the remote Control Room team in Turin analyzes key data collected during each stage, in full compliance with race rules prohibiting live data transmission.
At the end of the day, the gathered information – primarily focused on engine operating temperatures – is translated into targeted insights that help fine-tune the truck, ensuring it is optimally prepared for the challenges of the next stage.