Ford Bronco DR Finishes First At NORRA Mexican 1000

Fresh off seeing its Ultra4 Ford Bronco racers once again dominate the 2024 King of the Hammers off-road race, The Blue Oval announced that it was set to debut another new racer based on the sixth-generation SUV – the Ford Bronco DR – at this past weekend’s Norra Mexican 1000 Rally. Though the Ford Bronco DR was actually revealed back in November 2021 and went on sale shortly thereafter, it had yet to make its competitive debut at any sort of off-road race, so it was unclear just how well the model might perform – even with off-road racing legend Brad Lovell behind the wheel. Turns out, both were more than up to the task, as Lovell piloted the Ford Bronco DR to a win in the Heavy Metal class, as well as 15^th overall.

In the first race with the new Ford #BroncoDR, @bradlovell44 and Roger Lovell finished first in class! Congrats to Brad, Roger and the whole team! @FordPerformance https://t.co/h0kjS2jpRQ

— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) May 6, 2024

Along with his brother Roger, Lovell managed to conquer the six-day rally and come out on top of their class, even though it marked the very first competitive race for the Ford Bronco DR. The purpose-built machine is obviously designed specifically for these purposes, but the Norra 1000 is unique in that drivers must exercise a little bit of mechanical sympathy while also pushing to stay ahead of the pack, as incurring damage can quickly extinguish any sort of hope for victory.

Competition debut for Bronco DR. We got the win in Heavy Metal class and 15th overall in the NORRA Mexican 1000! 🌵🏁🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/4nJjYXoe5U

— Brad Lovell (@bradlovell44) May 4, 2024

Regardless, with Roger playing navigator, Brad Lovell wound up performing flawlessly, ultimately claiming a class win and a respectable overall finish – particularly for the DR’s very first off-road test. “One thing I really appreciate about the Bronco Dr is that the whole race, we were pushing at my pace, and at Roger’s pace as a navigator,” Lovell said after the race. “We weren’t holding back, waiting for the vehicle, or trying to limp through a stage hoping to get to the end to fix something. We had zero downtime on the clock in the Bronco DR.”

We’ll have more on the Bronco DR soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford Bronco news and ongoing Ford news coverage.