Ranger Raptor: Ford open to racing potential

Ford Australia has said it is very interested in competing with its new 2022 Ranger Raptor in off-road racing.

At the recent launch of the EcoBoost V6 powered Raptor, Ford Performance and Special Vehicle Manager, Justin Capicchiano said he is, “very interested in off-road racing wiht the new Raptor.”

While Capicchiano went on to say that they (Ford Australia) have not committed to anything yet, they are particularly interested in the production vehicle categories available in the off-road racing championships, as well as big events such as the Finke Desert Race held annually in the Northern Territory.

Production vehicles are not suited to most forms of off-road racing, as they are not made to cope with the demanding conditions faced on the tracks around Australia.

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While there are classes for production vehicles, they are the slowest vehicles at any race, as the tracks are designed to challenge the bigger, more powerful racing buggies and trophy trucks – which are specifically built for racing with huge tyres, massive suspension travel and usually upwards of 800-horsepower engines.

Even the vehicles that regularly compete in the production categories are extensively modified beyond just the roll cage and safety equipment. Some employ cleverly-designed dual-shock absorber setups using big-brand racing springs and dampers that still maintain the standard car’s pick-up points to meet the class regulations.

The undisputed king of production-class off-road racing in Australia is Queenslander Geoff Pickering, who, with his well-aged and developed Mitsubishi NM Pajero, has amassed more than 13 national championships, countless, class event podiums and wins, and many class wins in the Finke Desert race.

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Capicchiano referenced Pickering’s long reign at the top of the class and the development of the Pajero over that time, when considering the new Raptor’s potential for racing in Australia.

Unike the family wagon Pajero, the Ranger Raptor is built from a history of such racing in the United States, where the F-150 Raptor has always been successful – and it's why you see brands such as Fox Racing shock absorbers and BF Goodrich tyres used on the Raptor vehicles.

Ford Performance in the USA has used off-road racing in that country and on the Baja Peninsular in Mexico to develop its Raptor models, originally with the F-Series trucks and more recently with the Bronco Raptor R Baja racer.

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Across the other side of town, the team at Chevrolet Performance has run similar off-road racing programs with its various trucks over the decades and most recently, the ZR2 Colorado and Silverado trucks are the products of such development into production vehicles.

Here in Australia, Walkinshaw Performance is currently running a VW Amarok W580 in production-class off-road racing – although that project is yet to show its potential.

The Ranger Raptor is the best-placed production car to compete in off road racing without modifications beyond the required safety equipment. With its unique suspension setup using the Fox Live Valve adaptive shock absorbers, the 292kW EcoBoost petrol engine and BF Goodrich tyres, the new Raptor is the perfect platform for production racing.

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Along with the roll cage and other safety kit, a larger-capacity fuel tank would be the other improvement to maximise the Raptor’s racing potential. This would especially be beneficial for races like the Finke or cross country events like the Sunraysia Safari.

Having witnessed first hard the punishmet the Raptor prototypes were put through as part of their ‘Endurance testing’ here in Australia, we think the Raptor could make the ultimate proddie racer.

Could we be in for a new era in off road racing with the Ranger Ranger heading up production racing?It could boom in the category in much the same way Side x Side racing has for budget racing.