image: Ford Performance
Congratulations to Brad and Roger Lovell, as well as Ford Performance, for winning first in class and 15th overall in the NORRA 1000, a 6-day rally over grueling terrain. The brothers were racing the Ford Bronco DR, Ford Performance and Multimatic’s purpose-built desert racing monster, in its first competition.
“Not a Single Moment Lost to Mechanical Issues”
The high-speed off-roading of the NORRA 1000 requires risk management and mechanical sympathy to do well: Drivers must hammer vehicles hard enough to optimize pace, but not so hard they sustain damage that prevents a podium finish.
Off-road legend Brad Lovell handled the course like the pro he is with Roger navigating, and the Bronco DR performed flawlessly while being pushed to the limit, Brad said.
“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. 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.”
Performance Proving Grounds
Ford uses off-road rallies and races like NORRA and King of the Hammers to trial, demonstrate, and improve the tech that ends up in our own vehicles. Ford engineers and Ford Performance drivers have taken a variety of 6th generation Broncos through the NORRA 1000 to prove they can finish the event, from a stock non-Sasquatch Badlands in ‘21 to a HOSS 3.0 Wildtrak in ’22 to this year’s DR and a 2.3L Badlands.
Bronco Vehicle Engineering Manager Jamie Groves, who has driven in the rally multiple times, said in ’22: “The reason we do as well as we do is because we've done so much testing on the truck and know it's durable.”
Seeing stock vehicles coming straight out of the factory to running races in Baja should make Bronco owners feel pretty great about what they’ve bought and inspired to develop driving skills that let them explore all these vehicles can do!
On to the Next Win?
The Bronco DR gave the Lovells their best finish in Baja yet, and the duo is already gearing up for the next race in the performance machine. “This isn’t the last you’ve seen of Bronco DR,” said Brad.
Read more:
A Horse of a Different Color: Bronco DR Gets a Make … Under?
I Practically Flew a Rocket to Space: Piloting the Bronco DR
Watch:
Brad Lovell does a 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands 2-Door Walk-Around
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