Ford Ranger Raptor tackles gruelling Asia Cross Country Rally

Ford throws weight behind Ranger Raptor rally campaign

Ford Performance and RMA Group are supporting a bold assault on the 2026 Asia Cross Country Rally, with Thai outfit Feeliq Innovation Motorsport fielding a production-based Ford Ranger Raptor against purpose-built competition.

The six-day endurance event kicked off in Pattaya on 10 August, sending competitors across roughly 2000 kilometres of Thailand's most challenging terrain before wrapping up in Phitsanulok on 15 August.

According to Auto Action, Feeliq Innovation Motorsport is returning after a standout 2025 campaign, when American off-road racer Bailey Cole and Thai co-driver Sinoppong Trairat claimed third outright and won the T2A production-based class.

That result turned heads because the Ranger Raptor was competing against heavily modified T1 cross-country rally machines — essentially purpose-built race vehicles — and still managed a podium finish.

Production ute meets extreme conditions

For this year's event, Cole is joined by Michael Freeman from RMA Group, with RMA engineers embedded in the team throughout the rally to monitor performance and support the effort.

The campaign also includes a Ford Ranger Super Duty serving as the team's service vehicle, hauling tools, spare parts and personnel between service points.

The Asia Cross Country Rally throws just about everything at competitors: gravel, mountain tracks, mud, river crossings and high-speed off-road sections spread across six demanding days. In these conditions, reliability and the ability to fix problems quickly matter as much as outright pace.

As Auto Action reports, RMA views the event as both a motorsport exercise and a real-world test of its engineering and vehicle preparation capabilities — proving what a properly sorted production-based ute can do when the going gets genuinely tough.