Confirmed: Ford Ranger Raptor for Baja 1000

It’s official: The all-new 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor will compete in the gruelling Baja 1000 desert race this month – in a racing version of the ute that was developed and built in Australia.

Going well beyond Ford Australia’s development of the series-production performance ute that’s now on sale, the Ranger Raptor has been transformed into an off-road racing weapon by local motorsport and engineering firm Kelly Racing.

The Blue Oval brand has also confirmed it will mount a global motorsport program with the new Ford Ranger, which should include the Finke Desert Race in Outback Australia next year – among a host of high-profile events worldwide.

Unveiled this morning after a teaser image released yesterday sparked a huge response, the Ranger Raptor rally raider is prepped for racing but doesn’t stray too far from the production model as per the event’s stock class regulations.

Working with Ford’s global motorsport homeroom, Ford Performance, Victorian-based Kelly Racing developed and built the competition Raptor before handing it over to US-based Lovell Racing, which will run final testing and race the ute at Baja (starting November 18).

Kelly Racing has had close ties with Ford Performance since it switched from racing Nissan Altima Supercars to Mustangs in 2019, receiving technical support and establishing its own Ford V8 engine development program at its Braeside base.

Much has changed since then as former team owners Todd and Rick Kelly sold their remaining share of the Supercars team to the Grove Group at the end of last year, however Kelly Racing is still prominent behind the scenes in motorsport design, engineering and manufacturing, such as supplying components for Supercars teams.

The Kelly family has a farm station north of Mildura, on the NSW side of the border, which is an obvious location for development of the racing Ranger.

They were also responsible for the Gen III 5.7-litre V8-powered Holden Rodeo off-road racer in which the late, great Peter Brock contested his last Australasian Safari in 2004.

“By entering this event, we’re building on the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of development testing and pushing the Ranger Raptor to new extremes,” said Ford Performance off-road motorsports supervisor Brian Novak.

“The Baja 1000 is a demanding event and a well-known proving ground for off-road vehicles.

“We are excited to compete in this extreme event with Ranger Raptor.”

Ford is yet to detail the changes made to the stock Ranger Raptor, but confirmed it will run on low-carbon Shell biofuel.

The production model is powered by a 292kW/583Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6, rides on adaptive Fox Racing ‘Live Valve’ 2.5-inch shock absorbers and has locking differentials front and rear.

It also has a dedicated Baja drive mode for when owners want to indulge in some high-pace off-road fun.

The photos show a variety of enhancements to the racing version, including the snorkel, body protection, LED light bars, upgraded wheel and tyre combination, tailgate delete, roll cage, spare wheel brackets and on-board fire extinguisher.

Ford is no stranger to the Baja California Peninsula, pointing to campaigns with the Ford F-150 Raptor and the Ford Bronco – both new and old, the latter winning outright in 1969.

The Ranger racing program will also feed into the development of the Ford Ranger Raptor R that’s expected to surface in 2023.

- with Terry Martin