The term race truck can mean many different things to those in the automotive space. While some might picture a bomb-proof Baja Trophy Truck, others may see a Nascar Race Truck designed to rip around Daytona International Speedway at 200 mph. Thankfully, CB Media’s latest video fills in the blanks on what Ford’s latest Ranger race truck is all about.
Ford Motorsport Thailand needed to prepare its Ford Ranger Raptor Race Truck for an upcoming event at the Chang Circuit – the same track MotoGP travels to – in Buriram, Thailand. Aside from its lengthy name, the truck is designed to compete in the Super Pickup class of the Thailand Super Series, a regional championship that tours the local race tracks.
Under the hood is a 3.2-liter inline-five turbodiesel which is definitely potent, but for a spec class power isn’t everything. With the tires being limited as well by class, it puts an emphasis on vehicle setup and driver skill. As such, things are looking good for the number 03 truck with Sandy Stuvik behind the wheel, a spritely young driver who also races the local GT3 championship in an Audi R8 LMS GT3.
We’ll let you decide on the looks, but it’s clear that this diesel machine can boogie. Aside from some technical issues during testing, the Ranger Raptor Race Truck will have a chance to prove its worth later this year.
As motorsport in Thailand has become unbelievably popular with Alex Albon in Formula 1, more people want to follow in his footsteps. With MotoGP already coming to Buriram, and a Thai driver on the F1 grid, the future of local motorsport certainly looks bright.