2020 Bronco R Competes in Baja 1000
Take a behind-the-scenes look at what happens during a Baja pit stop
Flex, Rocks & Rollovers is a YouTube channel dedicated to awesome off-road content, including rock crawling, jumps, hillclimbs, and more. Their team was fortunate enough to be able to head to the Baja 1000 and participate as part of one of the pit crews. In addition to the usual assortment of purpose-built desert runners, motorcycles, trophy trucks, and HMMWVs, the all new 2020 Bronco R also took part in this year’s Baja race.
Being part of a Baja 1000 pit crew is no easy task. Not only does the crew have to be able to diagnose and repair issues to very diverse vehicles on the fly, they have to do it for over 32 hours straight as various classes of trucks roll into the pits. The Flex, Rocks, & Rollovers team was lucky enough to be able to record operations at Pit 3; Marvin Stammel describes the scene: “It’s pitch black dark, we’re in the middle of the desert, surrounded by locals and their fire pits”.
‘The Brand-new Ford Bronco just Pulled into Our Pit'”
Late into the night, the Bronco R rolls into the pits for repairs and maintenance. A typical pit stop will feature tire changes, fluid checks, and any minor repairs that may be necessary. For some crews, however, a longer stop is necessary; as Matt Medina says, “Well, it’s 5 in the morning; we’ve got three broken vehicles in the pit right now”, which can create some obvious delays for other drivers. One of these broken trucks was the Bronco R; earlier in the race, the Bronco R encountered a tough obstacle; driver Brad Lovell describes how the skid plate was “torn back in the ruts and wrapped around and cut off the transmission lines”. This eventually led to the transmission slipping and essentially rendering the truck dead. Quick thinking allowed the crew to cap the severed line and refill the transmission in the field, but running without the trans cooler led to overheating issues. Once the Bronco R made it to the pits, it took hours to fit a new skid plate and transmission lines, not to mention all of the usual maintence tasks.
Unfortunately, the Bronco R didn’t go on to finish the race, as a broken control arm, overheating, and electrical issues forced the team to retire after the 5th pit stop. Still, Ford managed to make a Baja capable prototype out of a production vehicle platform with only a few months – that sounds impressive to us. We can’t wait to see what Ford improves for 2020, and what parts may trickle down to a street version of the Baja R.
More on the Bronco R
Fifty years ago, a Ford Bronco clinched an overall victory at the 1969 Baja 1000, driven by Rod Hall and Larry Minor. With the launch of the 2020 Bronco, Ford engineers decided that an entry to the Baja 1000 was only logical. Inspired by this impressive feat that “no other 4×4 has replicated”, the new Bronco will be driven in part by Hall’s granddaughter, Shelby Hall. This not only honors Bronco heritage, it also thoroughly tests the new Bronco platform. Think about it, if the Bronco can make it through Baja in one piece, there’s not much that an average owner will be able to do to break it. As Ford’s chief product development and purchasing officer Hau Thai-Tang says, the Baja 1000 “provides an authentic test bed to demonstrate our upcoming Bronco’s desert racing capability and durability”.
The Bronco R is a really impressive build, featuring 37-inch BFGoodrich KDR2+ tires on 17-inch beadlock wheels. To clear the massive rubber, the Bronco R uses a custom Fox suspension, with 14 inches of travel in the front and 18 inches in the rear. Aside from some obvious safety and durability enhancements, the race prototype features a chassis and frame that is nearly identical to the production Bronco.
Time will tell if the production Bronco lives up to its heritage, but seeing the Bronco R compete in the Baja 1000 leaves us feeling pretty good about the future.
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