HAMMERTOWN, Calif., Feb. 10, 2022 – Ford Bronco® and Ford Performance continue to reign over the grueling terrain of Johnson Valley, California, repeating last year’s 1-2-3 podium sweep in the 18th annual King of the Hammers Ultra4 4600 stock class.
The famed King of the Hammers combines high-speed desert running with extreme rock crawling. Its location in Johnson Valley also serves as the ultimate Build Wild™ proving ground for all Ford Bronco development, including crawling up rocks and racing across sand. King of the Hammers also inspired the development of the all-new Bronco Raptor, the world’s first Ultra4-inspired SUV.
“Racing and off-road competition like King of the Hammers leads to better products, like Bronco and Bronco Raptor,” said Mark Rushbrook, global director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “The stock class Every Man Bronco 4600s continue to showcase the development of new technologies, and these learnings can help us improve the vehicles our customers drive every day.”
Winning the Every Man Challenge was the team of Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Loren Healy in the No. 2567 Bronco 4600. Brad Lovell and brother Roger in the No. 4621 Bronco 4600 placed second in a tightly contested battle to the finish, and they were also the pacesetter in class qualifying. Bailey Cole placed third in the No. 13 Bronco 4600, covering 137 miles across a wide-array of terrain – from aggressive, technical rock formations to deep, high-speed desert sand.
Each of the podium-earning Bronco 4600 race vehicles started as a Bronco two-door at Michigan Assembly Plant, powered by proven 2.7-liter EcoBoost® V6 engine with competition-engineered High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (HOSS) System.
Official truck and SUV of King of the Hammers and SCORE International
Ford’s collaboration with King of the Hammers for the third consecutive year signals its continued presence in the off-road enthusiast realm.
“Having Ford as both our official vehicle and a proven competitor in the Every Man Challenge and Race of Kings is as meaningful to our fans as it is to watch racing,” said David Cole, president, Hammerking Productions/Ultra4 Racing.
In addition to its status as official truck and SUV of the event, Ford also serves as official truck and SUV of SCORE International Off-Road Racing, which hosts the Baja 500, Baja 1000 and San Felipe 250 championships. Ford also serves as official vehicle of Best in the Desert, and is the back-to-back-to-back champ in the Rebelle Rally X-Cross class with Bronco Sport.
The 2022 King of the Hammers win is documented here. For more info on the 2023 King of the Hammers race, visit www.ultra4racing.com/ultra4-racing-live.
To learn more about the Bronco two-door, four-door and Bronco Sport models, please visit Ford.com/Bronco.
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