Ford Performance cleaned house at the 2024 Score Baja 1000 with a pair of off-road-ready racers, proving once again that The Blue Oval is practically unstoppable in the Mexican desert, following its 2023 wins with the Ford F-150 Raptor and the Bronco Raptor. After charging through hundreds of miles of rough terrain, the Ford Bronco DR and the Ford Ranger Raptor conquered the off-road excursion with a pair of trophies to show for it.
The Bronco DR, driven by Brad Lovell and navigator Roger Lovell, snagged the win in the Heavy Metal Limited class, earning its third trophy his year. The winning Ranger Raptor, which is driven by another crew of Ford Performance drivers, proved its mettle by winning the Stock Mid-Size class.
“The Baja 1000 is brutal,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance Motorsports. “It pushes every part of a truck to its limits and demands everything from the drivers and teams. This isn’t just about crossing the finish line – it’s about proving that our vehicles can take on and conquer challenges as tough as Baja.”
The Ford Bronco DR, so far, is undefeated – it has won every race it’s competed in so far in 2024. The Lovells dominated the first two legs of the race with fellow Ford Performance duo Jason Scherer and Jason Berger in hot pursuit. Scherer and Berger went on to take the third leg of the race.
“Baja doesn’t hand out wins,” said Lovell. “You earn them by enduring the worst it throws at you and pushing through when it seems impossible. That’s what makes this race so special.”
The Ford Ranger Raptor, meanwhile, hit the course with its advanced FOX suspension, a tough chassis, and its twin-turbocharged 3.0L EcoBoost engine. That engineering is available under the hood of the roadgoing Ranger Raptor right off the showroom floor. Loren Healy and Eric Davis served as driver and navigator for the pickup’s first stint before swapping the controls to Bailey Campbell and Bryan Crofts for its 736-mile journey. The No. 773 Ranger will provide valuable data for engineers, and some of that information may even make it to the street-legal Ranger once it’s torn down.
“One of our top priorities is always to gather as much data as possible, and we see so much varied conditions here that helps that,” said Brian Novak, North American Off-Road Program Manager. “We’ve taken insights from this program to enhance our durability testing process. When we take this truck back to Dearborn, we’ll analyze every piece and part in detail to see what we can do to make our consumer trucks better.”
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