When Ford announced the Next-Gen Ranger Raptor it was immediately obvious they had a winner on their hands. You don’t have to look hard to find a Tradie racing through traffic in the old model. Typically with a jet-ski in tow and a can of Monster Energy in the centre console. Even with the underwhelming 2.0L turbo-diesel, it was still a sales success. The Next-Gen, with nearly 400hp at the flywheel and advanced suspension, is a near-guaranteed homerun. Ford aims to prove just how good it is, by running it in one of the toughest off-road races in the world. The Baja 1000.
Teams, competing night and day, typically complete the gruelling 1600+km course in around 24hrs. That is of course, if they’re vying to be on the podium. Ford is no stranger to the event, or the podium itself. They’ve been racing officially, and unofficially, since the event first kicked off. A factory 2WD prototype shoe-horned with custom parts invented the Trophy Truck segment when piloted by Parnelli Jones and Bill Stroppe in Baja in the early 70s.
“Teams, competing night and day, typically complete the gruelling 1600+km course in around 24hrs”
Since then, Ford has championed a whole host of their off-road models there. In 2017 a bone-stock F150 Raptor competed, took out a podium placement, and then drove 650kms home afterwards.
“In 2017 a bone-stock F150 Raptor competed, took out a podium placement, and then drove 650kms home afterwards.”
Ford’s latest campaign on the Mexican Peninsula sees a slightly modified version of the Next-Gen Ranger Raptor aiming to repeat that success. Designed and engineered locally. Kelly Racing have been one of the driving forces behind the build. In final preparation, the Raptor was shipped to the U.S. where Lovell Racing completed the Baja development program ready for the November race.
Despite Ford’s recent push to offer EV versions of all their popular models, it’s understood the Baja built Raptor is running a new low-carbon bio-fuel blend in partnership with Shell. It’s comprised of 30% sustainably sourced ‘bio-components.
“Demonstrating low-carbon fuels in performance settings like the Baja 1000 can help bring biofuels and other clean energy technologies to scale”
“Demonstrating low-carbon fuels in performance settings like the Baja 1000 can help bring biofuels and other clean energy technologies to scale more quickly, and help to make them more available and affordable for everyone,” said Cynthia Williams, Global Director of Sustainability, Compliance and Homologation at Ford.
