UPDATED! November 22, 2022
"It was marketing, not racing"
From the "Experts File":
"The race is over, and the Raptor Ranger finished in 26:21 and was beat by the (only/lone) class 11 finisher at 26:06. One finisher out of 6 in class 11 and 1 entry in the ranger raptor class which is stock midsize."
"1 of 1. Won't see it at any more races. It was marketing, not racing. They got what they wanted and said as much with claiming the 'win' in a class of (only) 1 (competitor). Curious which shocks it was running. Something tells me they weren't 'stock'."
The Kelly Racing Ford Ranger Raptor prepped in Australia has taken its class win at the 2022 Baja 1000
The Australian-built Ford Ranger Raptor has conquered the 2022 BF Goodrich Score Baja 1000. Race-prepped locally by former Supercars outfit Kelly Racing, the #773 entry – the sole entry in the Stock Mid-size class – completed the 828.5mi (1332km) event with Australian father-and-son pairing Andy and Danny Brown at the wheel. Off-Road Racing Supervisor at Ford Performance Brian Novak credited all those involved in the marathon effort. “I’m just so proud of the Ford Performance Australia team, the Ford Performance North American team, Lovell Racing, Motec, Herrod, Kelly Racing, Method Wheels – there are so many people who were a part of this programme,” Novak said. “It’s a stock engine, a stock transmission, a stock driveline in this truck. It was just flawless. I couldn’t have asked for a better race. I’m just so proud of everyone who worked on this programme.” The Browns completed the third and final stint, driving from Race Mile 670 (1078km) all the way to the finish at Ensenada. “The car is just in ripper shape, it really held up well,” Andy Brown said. “I am amazed by that car, it’s just a sensational package. They’ve done a brilliant job with it. It just takes anything in its stride. Fantastic.”
Baja 1000 after race updated
Ford announced today that a Next-Generation Ranger Raptor will be its latest off-roading vehicle to tackle the SCORE International Baja 1000 – one of the toughest off-road races in the world. The Ranger Raptor will be racing on a low-carbon biofuel, demonstrating the potential of these fuels in the most demanding environments.
Ford Performance partnered with Australia’s Kelly Racing to build the Baja-ready Ranger Raptor and U.S.-based Lovell Racing to develop and race the truck at Baja, which begins on Nov. 18. Lovell Racing, led by multi-time off-road champion and BAJA Racing Hall of Famer Brad Lovell, is one of Ford Performance’s key off-road teams.
Ranger has long been a global icon for Ford and this right-hand drive version of the vehicle was built and tested in Australia before being brought over to the U.S. for final development and testing before the endurance race.
“By entering this event, we’re building on the hundreds of thousands of kilometers of development testing and pushing the Ranger Raptor to new extremes,” said Brian Novak, Off-Road Motorsports Supervisor, Ford Performance.
“The Baja 1000 is a demanding event and a well-known proving ground for off-road vehicles,” he added. “We are excited to compete in this extreme event with Ranger Raptor.”
The Baja 1000, held on the Baja California Peninsula, is considered one of the world’s most prestigious off-road races, attracting competitors from around the globe eager to take on its miles of treacherous desert terrain, steep drops and tough climbs.
In the past, both the F-150 Raptor and Ford Bronco have successfully raced at Baja. Whether it was a stock 2017 F-150 Raptor finishing on the podium before driving an additional 400 miles home, the Bronco R race prototype’s development & verification of the current production Bronco or even hailing all the way back to the legendary 1969 overall win, there’s hearty history at play for Ford trucks.
Ford Performance believes the Ranger Raptor is up for the challenge. It is built to the rules of SCORE’s stock class, which are meant to show off the capability of the stock street trucks.
The Ranger Raptor will be powered and protected by Shell’s low carbon biofuel blend which consists of more than 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 more quickly, and help to make them more available and affordable for everyone,” said Cynthia Williams, Global Director of Sustainability and Compliance at Ford.
Ford is working to achieve carbon neutrality globally across its vehicles, operations and supply chain no later than 2050 and to reach science-based interim targets by 2035. As Ford launches electrified versions of its most popular nameplates, the company continues to research and develop alternative fuel options across all of its vehicles, including performance racing, to provide customers with efficient, low-carbon alternatives. Alternative fuel vehicles can reduce GHG emissions compared to conventional fuels on a well-to-wheels basis, which includes emissions from both producing and consuming the fuels.
Watch the "Baja-ready", Next-Gen Ranger Raptor being built and put through its paces by looking at the video positioned above.
[Considering the "performance" of their last team effort in Baja Mexico, Baja Racing News LIVE! will inspect this 'effort', very, very closely.]
Keywords for Ford Performance Vehicles: Ford GT, Shelby GT500, Shelby GT350R, Shelby GT350, F-150 Raptor, Bronco Raptor, Ranger Raptor, Puma ST, Explorer ST, Edge ST, Focus RS, Focus ST, Fiesta ST.
Ford Performance Drivers: Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola, Chase Briscoe, Cole Custer, Ryan Preece, Riley Herbst, Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Harrison Burton, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith, BJ McLeod, Cody Ware, Hailie Deegan, Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Thad Moffit, Bob Tasca III, Tim Wilkerson, Chelsea DeNofa, Adam LZ, Justin Pawlak, Tony Stewart, Donny Schatz, Jack Le Brocq, Cameron Waters, Jaems Courtney, Thomas Randle, Anton De Pasquale, Will Davison, Andre Heimgartner, David Reynolds, Tim Slade, Brad Lovell, Jason Scherer, Bailey Cole, Vaughn Gittin Jr., Loren Healy, Shelby Hall, Craig Breen, Adrien Fourmaux, Gus Greensmith, Scott Maxwell, Sebasitan Priaulx, Andy Priaulx, Marco Signoretti, Jack Roush Jr., Chad McCumbee, James Pesek, Chris Polovoorde, Brian Deegan, Joey Hand, Clint Bowyer.
Ford Performance Teams: Team Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, Wood Brothers Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Live Fast Motorsports, DGR-Crosley Racing, Tasca Racing, Tim Wilkerson Racing RTR-Motorsports, Pawlak Racing, Tony-Stewart Racing, Dick Johnson Racing, Tickford Racing, Kelly Grove Racing, Blanchard Racing, Lovell Racing, Rock Royalty Racing, Fun-Haver Off-Road, M-Sport, PF Racing, Multimatic, Roush-Yates Engines, Chris Polvoorde Racing, Baja Racing News LIVE!
The Ranger Raptor Pre-Baja Story:
Ford will introduce the US market to the Ranger Raptor ahead of its 2023 on-sale with an Australian-built entry into the famous Baja 1000 off-road race. Ford Performance tapped former Supercars team boss and Bathurst winner, Todd Kelly, as well as Supercars engine builder Herrod Performance and Australian off-road accessory specialists, ARB, to prepare the vehicle ahead of the BF Goodrich Score Baja 1000 on November 15-21. Built at the Kelly Racing facility at Braeside, Melbourne, now home to the current Grove Racing Mustang Supercars of David Reynolds and Lee Holdsworth, the Baja-bound Ranger Raptor was tested in Mildura, Victoria and the Johnson Valley in California ahead of the legendary off-road race. Built for the stock vehicle class for the event, the vehicle is based on the production version of the Ranger Raptor. Melbourne’s Herrod Performance, the company behind Ford’s Gen3 Supercars engine for 2023 and beyond, worked on technology sharing over the 18-month development period with Ford Australia, the bio-fuel 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol powerplant under the Ranger Raptor’s bonnet running on on a blend of ethanol and bionaptha. Additionally, Aussie off-road company ARB was also involved in the development and testing of components in readiness for the brutal desert event. The Baja 1000 is America’s most famous off-road race, first taking place in 1967. Held on the Baja Californian peninsular, it takes in a punishing off-road loop that starts and finishes in Ensenada but varies each year to typically cover between 600 and 850 miles. Having won the event 22 times across various classes, Ford has most recently used the Baja 1000 to showcase the Bronco Raptor R and the previous F-150 Raptor, with the road-going Ranger Raptor sharing an extreme ‘Baja’ mode for more spirited off-road driving with its stablemates. While Ford is yet to confirm the driver line-up, famed Lovells Racing will campaign the vehicle for the event under the watch of Brad Lovell, who was inducted into the Off-road Hall of Fame last week. The first Ranger Raptor, launched in 2018, was not sold in the US, the 2023 model year will be available in North America for the first time, where it will sit below the F-150 Raptor and effectively alongside the Bronco Raptor SUV, which shares its mechanicals with the Ranger.
The Pre-Pre-Baja Story:
Direct From Ford, From Australia?
2022 Ford Ranger Raptor R
September, 2022 - The 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor, Ford calls it the ‘ultimate performance truck’ and it’s hard to argue, because while there have been plenty of would-be rivals pop up in recent years none have really committed to off-road performance in the same way Ford has done with the Raptor. It really did create a new market segment in Australia, and these new high-performance and high-priced utes – which include the Nissan Navara Warrior, Volkswagen Amarok W580 and Toyota HiLux RuggedX – looks set to boom in the near future.
ROAD TEST: 2022 Ford Ranger range review But for now, the Ranger Raptor is in a class of its own as a ute that’s as capable crawling through mud at 5km/h as it is sliding through berms and leaping over jumps at speed. The first Ranger Raptor broke new ground, now it’s time for this second-generation to elevate the concept to the next level. The blue oval didn’t rest on its laurels and has built a bigger, bolder and more powerful Raptor this time around. READ MORE: Super Ute – new V6-powered Ranger Raptor revealed Ford gave Torquecafe the opportunity to put the Raptor through its paces in both challenging slow-speed off-roading as well as a high-speed off-road course that features gravel, dirt, ruts and even a jump. Here’s how it handled itself. Does it have any racing pedigree? The Ranger Raptor is inspired by the Trophy Trucks that tackle the Baja 1000. The Raptor is built on Ford’s history in desert off-road racing in the US, but especially the Baja 1000. The Baja 1000 off-road race in Mexico is at the core of the Raptor – both the Ranger and the original F-150. In order for a Ford to carry the Raptor badge it must survive a 1000-mile (1600km) high-speed, off-road endurance test to ensure it’s tough enough. That’s why Ford Australia built the high-speed off-road course for the local launch, to showcase what it’s capable of that no other ute on the local market can match. What’s under the bonnet? 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost engine If there was a major criticism of the old Ranger Raptor it was the engine. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel made a potent 500Nm of torque but only a modest 157kW of power. Ford listened to the criticism and reacted accordingly, dropping the diesel in favour of a new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost that makes 292kW and 583Nm. That’s nearly twice as much power as the old model and you can feel it as soon as you put your foot down. Ford gave us a chance to learn the off-road circuit in the out-going Raptor and while it’s still very impressive and highly capable, it was a shock on our first lap in the new model just how much faster we were approaching the corners. With the extra power and torque it really rockets out of corners, even when those corners are made of dirt, mud or gravel. And it keeps pulling hard as you keep your foot buried, which was a struggle for the old model. The other big advantage of switching to a petrol engine is a nicer soundtrack, with the new V6 running through an adjustable exhaust system. There are four modes – Quiet, Normal, Sport and Baja – which provide different volume levels to largely the same sound. It’s a raspy, sporty V6 noise as opposed to a menacing, rumbling tune you get from a V8, but it’s a nice noise and certainly adds to the overall dynamic feeling the Raptor exudes. The engine is paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission, which can be shifted manually via steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. It makes good use of the engine, extracting the best performance and offering the ability to either shuffle through the gears to keep the engine in its sweet spot, or simply cruise along and take advantage of the extra torque and save some fuel. During our time off-road we went to the two extremes of conditions – the fast, dry circuit and wet, muddy and rutted tracks – but in both the Raptor acquitted itself with total confidence and ease. This is because the Raptor gets a unique suspension set-up compared to the regular Ranger. There are Fox Shocks at each corner with 2.5-inch Live Valve Internal Bypass damping, which Ford says improves both off- and on-road ride quality. Plus, at the rear the leaf-springs that are best for payload and towing in the Ranger, are swapped out for a Watt’s link, coil-spring rear-end set-up that also improves ride quality and handling (albeit at the expense of payload and towing capacity). In the low-speed course Ford took us through, the Raptor had little trouble navigating through deep, muddy ruts, across water crossings as well as up and down steep inclines and descents. Basically, if you want to go on an off-roading adventure to hard-to-reach areas, the Raptor is as capable as any of its more hardcore-focused rivals, like the Navara PRO-4X Warrior and HiLux RuggedX. What it does that its rivals can’t is power and slide its way around loose roads at high speed. Dial up the ‘Baja mode’ for the steering and suspension and the Ranger Raptor turns into the closest thing you can get to a Trophy Truck with number plates. While the engine powers it out of the corners, it has excellent handling across the variety of corners and obstacles Ford threw at it. The corners got deeply rutted after countless hot laps but the Raptor is deeply impressive in the way it shrugs off the challenge and finds grip to allow you to remain in control. In faster corners it’s remarkably stable, allowing you to carry huge amounts of speed, but it will also slide in a predictable way that allows you to back it into slower corners. And Ford even let us hit a small jump, with the ute getting airborne but landing with a surprising amount of compliance thanks to the specially-tuned suspension. So no matter what type of off-road driving you want to do, the Raptor is capable of doing it. Where would you most like to drive it? 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor High-speed off-roading is a popular pastime in the USA (where the likes of the F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX are available) but not so much in Australia, so it’s hard to find places like the course we used at the launch event. But that’s really where the Ranger Raptor separates itself from its competitors, so hopefully there will be more options for owners to have this kind of fun in the future. What’s the interior like? 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor At its core the Ranger is a commercial vehicle, it’s designed to be a workhorse for tradies and not a premium performance vehicle. Thankfully, the base Ranger has been elevated to become a more polished offering and the Raptor takes it a step further. There are more premium materials used throughout the cabin that make it feel like a premium vehicle – and that’s just the start. There’s also a unique steering wheel with ‘Raptor’ embossed on and contrasting ‘code orange’ stichting as well as other orange highlights around the air-vents that separate it from the rest of the Ranger range. The seats are unique too, inspired by the F-22 Raptor fighter jet and designed to ensure you stay in the seat even if you’re jumping the Ranger off-road. How much does the Ford Ranger Raptor cost? 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor The extra power, suspension upgrades and bigger, more premium body naturally means this new model costs more. The 2022 Ranger Raptor is priced from $85,490 (plus on-road costs), which is a $9000 increase on the out-going model. That’s a hefty increase no matter how you look at it, but given the lack of true competitors, Ford is unlikely to have difficulty finding buyers. In fact, even though it’s only just hitting dealerships there’s already a waiting list for this super ute. Would I buy one? 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor In a heartbeat. Ford may have come across a bit arrogant when it questioned if there is any “genuine Raptor competitor” on sale today, but after driving the new model it’s hard to argue against it. While there are many excellent and highly-capable utes, the Ranger Raptor stands apart with its combination of both low-speed and flat-out off-road driving prowess. It really is a ute like no other in Australia. 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor price and specifications Price: From $85,490 plus on-road costs Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol Power: 292kW at 5650rpm Torque: 583Nm at 3500rpm Transmission: 10-speed automatic, four-wheel drive Fuel use: 11.5L/100km Wheels: 17-inch alloys Tyres: 285/70 R17 Length: 5381mm Width: 1922mm Height: 1955mm Weight: 2475kg 0-100km/h: No claim.
THE RANGER RACING IN THE SOUTH AMERICAN DAKAR
CLICK HERE FOR THE UNREAL REPORTING OF THE FORD RANGER RAPTOR BY, WHO ELSE?
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