Ricciardo, 36, is part of the Ford family after becoming a global racing ambassador following his F1 exit.
The Australian’s link to the brand was built around his long-standing interest in Ford’s Raptor line.
Ricciardo said at the time of the announcement that his “racing days are behind me”, but teased last year that “the itch for Baja is there”.
The Mexican desert race is among a smorgasbord of off-road events in which Ford is heavily involved.
Ricciardo has already driven Ford’s M-Sport Raptor T1+ through his ambassador role, giving him a taste of the machinery used at Baja.
“All he wanted to talk about when we first met him was Raptors,” said Rushbrook during a Monaco Grand Prix event hosted by The Race and Axios.
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“He owned a Raptor before he had a partnership with us.
“Once he stepped out of the car, he was thinking about the next steps of what he could do and what he wanted to do, and what we were trying to do with Raptors – to sell Raptors through Formula 1.
“It may not make sense, right, these incredible off-road trucks that we’re selling to Formula 1 fans – [but] Daniel was 100 percent into that.
“It’s just genuine passion. We had him at Raptor Rally, jumping trucks.
“The smile on his face – I know he’s always smiling – but it got even bigger.
“I don’t know if he’s ready to compete yet, but hopefully someday.”
Rushbrook also spoke of wanting to facilitate opportunities for Ricciardo’s former teammate Max Verstappen.
While the Red Bull F1 team is now partnered with Ford, Verstappen’s GT3 racing adventures have so far come with Mercedes.
“We love the fact that Max is just an out-and-out racer,” he said.
“That’s all he wants to do is get in and compete and win, whether it’s virtual racing or Formula 1 or sportscar racing like that.
“We have that ladder from a spec racing car to a Mustang GT4 to a Mustang GT3, and now a hypercar coming.
“So we’d love, when it’s right for him and right for us, to have that relationship in sportscar racing as well.”
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