JOAO FERREIRA

(POR) Born on 03/08/1999 1.64m / 62kg

Hobbies

Hobbies: cycling, gym, skiing and sim racing

Participations

Stage wins

Stages

Cat.

Group

Podiums

Cat.

Group

Wins

Cat.

Group

Other races

“More pressure but good pressure”

Crew facts

J.F.

Joao made his cross-country debut back in 2019 in the T2 production class before getting behind the wheel of a T1 Toyota Hilux in 2021. From there he migrated to an X-Raid Mini with which he won the 2022 European Baja championship by a slim margin at the very last round.
For the 2023 Dakar, super young Joao switch to the T3 class, entered aboard the X-Raid developed, Yamaha powered YXZ 1000R Turbo Prototype SXS. With a brand new car they knew they were outsiders and mechanical issues effectively put paid to any chances of a category podium. They did however break a record that delighted Yamaha: by winning a stage they allowed the Japanese manufacturer to be the first ever to win stages in both the car and bike categories!
For the 2024 Dakar Joao switched to the T4 class and was fighting for the podium before an electrical problem saw him finish in 5th place.
The 2025 Dakar saw Joao and his co-driver Filipe Palmeiro and finish a highly credible 8th overall in their T1+ Repsol 100% Renewable Fuels powered X-Raid Mini.
Then, during the 2025 summer break, all their hard work was rewarded when it was announced that Joao and Filipe would be joining Toyota Gazoo Racing factory team.
Since then the duo have won the Baja Aragon (ahead of Nasser Al Attiyah) and the Baja Portalegre (by over 10 minutes), taken 2 stage wins on the bp Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal and rounded off the season with a 4th place overall on the Rallye du Maroc.

Ambition

J.F.: “8th place on the 2025 Dakar exceeded our expectations and without a few minor issues we could have maybe finished better. Then this summer we achieved the dream of signing for Toyota Gazoo Racing. Of course, there is a little more pressure but good pressure and I think so far the team are happy with how we have performed. We’ve been doing a lot of testing and still have more to do before the Dakar. The Ultimate category is now extremely competitive, so it is difficult to make any predictions for the result – we’ll just have to take it day by day. Having said that, I will be driving the car that won last year’s Dakar with Yazeed Al Rajhi, I have an amazing team and an amazing co-driver, so clearly, I am not going to Saudi Arabia just to make up the numbers!”

Vehicle

TOYOTA GAZOO RACING SA

TOYOTA HILUX IMT EVO
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING

Mark TOYOTA
Model HILUX IMT EVO
Performance tuner TOYOTA GAZOO RACING W2RC
Assistance Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC
Class T1+: Prototype Cross-Country Cars 4x4

Ranking 2026

All news of J. Ferreira

Ferreira hampered by hitting a rock

Joao Ferreira’s day of misery continues. The Portuguese driver has ground to a halt after 337 km having hit a rock. He is trying to repair and reckons it will take about twenty minutes.

Moraes and Ferreira make gains

The FIA special hierarchy has undergone some change after 41 km. Taking advantage of their late starting positions (as the 16th and 17th drivers to start), Lucas Moraes and Joao Ferreira have climbed to the top of the timesheets. Sébastien Loeb maintains still boasts a lead of 1’’ but behind him, it is a dead heat. Lucas Moraes, Mitch Guthrie...

Watch out for the late starters

Saood Variawa, the winner of yesterday’s FIA stage, set off… 53 minutes after the opener! This is a reminder that a watchful eye needs to be kept on the crews starting later but who are capable of pulling off a performance. This is all the truer this Tuesday because the cars will not be following the tracks of the bikes. Late starters to keep a watch out for are...

Good momentum for Ferreira

Joao Ferreira was seventeenth in the FIA race at the end of stage 4 and has been steadily climbing the rankings ever since. The Portuguese driver was 11th this morning, but Eryk Goczal's misfortunes have propelled him into the top 10 of the virtual overall standings. He has an advantage of just over 5 minutes over Toby Price, who could also gain a position, moving up from...

Motorbikes I Benavides still in the hunt

You should never let opportunities get away, as Luciano Benavides knows all too well. The Argentinian let his flair do the talking in the special, which he started in sixth position, determined to make the most of the favourable terrain to stage a comeback. Benavides completed the rather fast course of the 459 km special in four hours, romping home with 4′47″ to spare...

João Ferreira: "One of the fastest in a while"

João Ferreira delivered his top performance of the week in second place, 4'27" behind Mattias Ekström. The Portuguese driver equalled his result from stage 6 in 2024, his best in a stage of the Dakar.

"It was one of the fastest in a while, we hit 170 km/h all the time. It wasn't a difficult stage, there were loads of bushes, we lost...

Ferreira raises the bar with Lategan yet to come

João Ferreira has posted the fastest time so far at km 233 by just 5 seconds over Carlos Sainz. He has jumped ahead of Toby Price and Seth Quintero as the top-ranked Toyota driver, although Henk Lategan, the standout performer of today's stage, has yet to reach this point. A solid performance by the Portuguese driver.

Ferreira leapfrogs Price for third place

At km 30, João Ferreira has put his Toyota Hilux in third on the provisional leaderboard, just 13 seconds behind Seth Quintero. Toby Price holds the fourth-fastest time, 22 seconds off the American and 2 ahead of Nani Roma. Six Ultimate riders have reached the first time check so far.