THE Baja 1000 would have to be one of the toughest off-road races in the world, so we here at 4X4 Australia were beyond excited to hear Ford was entering a stock Ranger Raptor, albeit prepped for racing but still in street-legal trim. Well, not only did the team come first in the Stock Mid-Size class, the vehicle was deemed to be in good enough condition to drive it on the road all the way back to the team’s base in Riverside, California.
This is a seriously impressive result, with the team reporting back that the vehicle completed the gruelling race without any major incident or repairs being required. The race team was managed by a legend of Baja racing, Curt Leduc, and was made up of four race driver and co-driver teams who each had a stint behind the wheel. These teams were Brad and Byam Lovell (Lovell Racing), Jason Hutter and Paul Blangstead (Fire Guys Racing), Loren Healy and Eric Davis (Fun-Haver Off-Road), and ARB’s Andy and Danny Brown.
“This is the Baja 1000, one of the toughest off-road races in the world,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “It’s a key proving ground for Ford Performance and our vehicles to earn the badge of Raptor.
This story is from the Summer 2022 edition of 4x4 Magazine Australia.
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This story is from the Summer 2022 edition of 4x4 Magazine Australia.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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