A star-studded driver line-up will be behind the wheel of the Aussie-prepped Ford Ranger Raptor in this year’s Baja 1000.
Built by ex-Supercars Kelly Racing and tested both in Australia and the US, the entry list for this year’s BF Goodrich Baja 1000 sees the Ranger Raptor steered by a team of made up of Aussie and American talent – including ARB Boss, Aussie Andy Brown.
View the gallery of the new 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor that will take on the Baja 1000 here.
Entered by Hall-of-Famer Brad Lovell of Lovell Racing, Colorado Springs, the Aussie flavour sees Brown, an off-road veteran Down Under, and his son Danny take on Baja in the Aussie-prepped Ranger Raptor, both already familiar with North America’s tough terrain.
In fact, the father-and-son pair were the first Australian team to enter the NORRA Mexican 1000 in 2018, which at 1300 miles (2092km) is even longer than the Baja 1000 The pair finished ninth outright and fourth in class.
Off-road parts and accessories company, ARB, has a commercial agreement with Ford in North America dating back to 2021 which include supply of parts for the Ford Bronco. It has since signed a similar deal with Ford Australia to expand the offering of aftermarket parts and accessories for the Ranger.
The Australian Brown pairing will be backed up by two-time King of the Hammers champion and four-time Ultra 4 racing Loren Healy will head the driver roster, who shared the news on his Instagram account.
Jason Hutter of Fire Guys Racing – formed in 1999 as Hutter and co-founder Paul Blangsted were firefighters in their local Colorado town – rounds out the talent roster.
This year’s Baja 1000 is the competition event for the Ranger Raptor, previously not sold in the United States. It’s closest link to motorsport to-date had been its role as the Recovery Vehicle in the Supercars category.
Read the full Ranger Raptor off-road test at Torquecafe here.
The Ranger Raptor will be the sole entry in the Stock Mid-Size class of this year’s BF Goodrich SCORE Baja 1000, which takes place from November 15-20. Read the full entry list here.
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