Ford Raptor Trophy Truck Builder Reveals Secrets to Racing Success

By Brett Foote - December 13, 2018

Ford Truck Enthusiasts talks with OTSFF/Motul builder/team manager Adam Fitza to get the scoop on his amazing Ford Raptor.

If you are entering the Best in the Desert Racing Association, you want to come locked and loaded with the baddest truck you can build. When the crew at OTSFF Motorsports wanted to take on the world of off-road racing, they chose the best of the beasts: A Ford Raptor. Building both an off-road racing team and a Ford Raptor trophy truck was quite an undertaking, and not without some serious bumps along the way.

Amazingly enough, however, they nailed it, which is pretty amazing when you consider the fact that OTSFF’s previous experience was in motocross, snowcross, and track racing–not trophy trucks. Their rookie season success can be credited to a series of smart moves from the get-go.

For starters, they found an excellent sponsor in famous motor oil brand Motul, which has been producing high-performance motor oils and industrial lubricants for 160 years. The second was hiring experienced builder/team manager Adam Fitza, who Ford Truck Enthusiasts had the pleasure of speaking with recently. And he was quick to point out the many little things the OTSFF/Motul team did to ensure their rookie spec trophy truck season wasn’t a total bust.

Ford Truck Enthusiasts: OTSFF has been involved in all sorts of motorsports over the years, mostly of the two-wheeled variety. What motivated them to get into off-road racing?

Adam Fitza: OTSFF has been involved in many types of motorsports. Motocross, SnoCross, Super Bike, Asphalt Auto racing and even boat racing. In 2015, Andre Laurin was invited to the Baja 1000 with some of the directors from Rockstar Energy Drink. He immediately was interested in the sport of off-road racing. He was then introduced to me and purchased a Ford Ranger platformed Heavy Metal/Class 8 truck that I had built years ago. After driving that truck for a handful of races, Andre was ready for another challenge, which would result in tasking myself to build a new Trophy Truck/6100.

Of all the manufacturers out there, what convinced you to choose Ford as the basis for your trophy truck build?

Two reasons. The Ford Raptor is such an icon in off-road racing. It looks great and it is an amazing-performing machine right off the showroom floor. Also, one of our team’s partners, “Hyper-Offroad,” specializes in building aftermarket components for the Ford Raptor. Between the two, we knew we had to have the look and performance of the Ford Raptor.

Even when you start with such a great base, building a spec trophy class truck from scratch is obviously a daunting task. What sorts of challenges did you face throughout the process?

There’s always challenges when designing and building something from scratch, especially when this is the first and only chassis like this. Everything went together pretty smoothly, considering. Engineer Dave Tounget of Terra Dynamics designed this race truck. There were small challenges like any new race truck, which included shock tuning and suspension set up.

We had small cooling issues and the engine seemed to run hot, but we eventually resolved them. Figuring out what torque converter and gear ratio we needed to run to be competitive was a challenge as well. But we plan for this, and we test before races to make sure we are fast and ready for these long distance races.

‘We knew we had to have the look and performance of the Ford Raptor.’

You and Laurin got to debut the truck at this year’s SEMA show. What kinds of reactions did you get at that star-studded event?

The SEMA Show was awesome! I’ve personally gone to the show for the past 6 years to walk around and look at all the awesome stuff there is to see. To have a vehicle that I built showcased there was amazing. The fans and show spectators showed major interest in the vehicle. It stands out! Our partners and sponsors were ecstatic. The unveiling at the Flowmaster/B&M booth drew a huge crowd as we uncovered the MOTUL/OTSFF Spec Trophy truck. It was GREAT!

You just finished building your truck mere months ago, yet you’ve already tasted success. How have you managed to overcome the odds so quickly?

OTSFF’s many years of experience from other forms of motorsports played a big role in our early success. I have personally been involved in off-road racing for 10 years. We have a winning combination between equipment, experience and our crew. Off-road racing is 100% a team effort, and we have an excellent team.

Also See: OTSFF/Motul’s Ford F-150 Trophy Truck Dominates Desert Debut

The fact that you managed to nab a top 10 finish at the grueling Pahrump 250 event despite facing a left rear shock issue is very impressive. How do you prep a truck like this to handle those sorts of extreme conditions without breaking?

These trucks are built for the abuse, but we beat the living heck out of them. Parts fail, things break!

Off-road racing starts with prep. Before every race, the truck is stripped down to basically nothing. I’ll remove the moving suspension parts, the steering components, the transmission, the driveline, the rear gear, the shocks, the seats, etc. You name it. If it’s bolted onto the chassis, chances are it gets removed. Every component on the truck is inspected and rebuilt as necessary before it gets assembled.

We use the best products available to ensure reliability. For example, we went all year on the same engine. A true testament to the quality of the Motul oil we use.

Then we test. We drive the truck approximately 30 miles at race speed at a test track to verify everything is in working order and the truck is doing what we want it to do.

We put these vehicles through environments at high rates of speed that until you see or do, it doesn’t make sense. These vehicles are downright impressive. One hundred miles an hour over bumps larger than your neighbor’s Prius!

Did you expect to have success right out of the gate, or were you anticipating some growing pains?

Success starts with failure. We had some growing pains. At our first race in this new truck we unfortunately broke the right front upper control arm, causing us to DNF. We learned from it as a team. Repaired the issues and kept moving forward. Since then, we have finished every race in respectable positions.

Off-road racing is no easy task. There will always be bumps in the road, but that’s why we do it! It’s all about the challenge, the adventure!

‘Off-road racing is 100% a team effort, and we have an excellent team.’

With the 2018 season wrapped up, are you planning to make any major changes this offseason?

Now that the season is over, I have completely stripped the race truck down again. We will start the 2019 season strong with all new components. New engine, new transmission, etc. Small changes will be made to make the truck better, but nothing major.

Obviously, you have a lot of positive momentum heading into 2019. What sort of goals have you and the team set for yourselves now that you’ve gotten your proverbial feet wet?

Well, 2018 was our rookie year in the Spec Trophy Truck class. We now know what to do and what it takes to finish races and be competitive. Our number one goal for 2019 is to finish every race we enter. In order to win, you must first finish. I would really like to see a podium class championship at the end of the year.

Many thanks to Adam Fitza for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak with us. You can keep up with his incredible Ford Raptor racer, as well as the team’s latest news, at their official site or on Facebook and Instagram.