Ford Efficiency got here again victorious from this yr’s Worldwide Baja 1000 race with a rally-prepped Ranger Raptor ending first within the inventory midsize class the place it was the one contestant. After the robust 1,000-mile off-road race, the pickup drove again to Riverside, California, proudly exhibiting its soiled livery on public roads.
In line with Ford, the Baja-ready Ranger Raptor was “race-prepped however remaining inventory and avenue authorized”. Apart from the racing stickers, exterior upgrades included the snorkel, bull bar, skid plates, LED gentle bar, new wheels, and tires, plus two full-size spares, a bigger tank, and further tools mounted on the rear mattress.
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A low-carbon biofuel from Shell was used for the race, with none adjustments to the twin-turbo 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 petrol that produces 392 hp (292 kW / 397 PS) and 583 Nm (430 ft-lb) of torque in Australian specification. The heavy-duty suspension with Fox shocks was additionally left inventory.
Regardless of the hurdles of the 1,000-mile race within the Baja Peninsula California, the truck didn’t have any main incidents or repairs and completed in good situation. This allowed the crew to drive it again to base, without having a trailer for the transport. That is the second time Ford achieves this after their 2017 Bajar 1000 effort with an F-150 Raptor.
The crew was managed by Curt Leduc who has fairly an expertise in off-road races. 4 driver and co-driver pairings stepped into the Ranger Raptor together with Brad and Byam Lovell (Lovell Racing), Jason Hutter and Paul Blangstead (Hearth Guys Racing), Loren Healy and Eric Davis (Enjoyable-Haver Off-Highway), and Andy and Danny Brown (ARB).
Brian Novak, Off-Highway Motorsports Supervisor at Ford Efficiency, stated: “Ford Efficiency Australia put their coronary heart and soul into this undertaking with Kelly Racing to begin us off. Once we took it over on the North American facet with Lovell Racing and Huseman Engineering, all of it got here collectively seamlessly. There’s simply so many individuals that got here collectively to do that, and I couldn’t be prouder.”