In the 18th annual King of the Hammers Ultra4 4600 stock class held in Johnson Valley, California, Ford Bronco and Ford Performance secured another 1-2-3 podium sweep, showcasing their dominance over the challenging terrain. This renowned event features a combination of high-speed desert running and extreme rock crawling, making Johnson Valley the perfect testing ground for all Ford Bronco development efforts, including crawling up rocks and racing across sand. Furthermore, the King of the Hammers event served as the inspiration behind the creation 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.”
Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Loren Healy claimed victory in the Every Man Challenge, driving the No. 2567 Bronco 4600. The battle for second place was closely contested, with Brad Lovell and his brother Roger taking the runner-up spot in the No. 4621 Bronco 4600 - they were also the fastest qualifiers in their class. Bailey Cole secured third place driving the No. 13 Bronco 4600, covering 137 miles of challenging terrain, from technical rock formations to high-speed desert sand. Notably, each of the podium-finishing Bronco 4600 race vehicles began as a two-door Bronco manufactured at the Michigan Assembly Plant, powered by the reliable 2.7-liter EcoBoost® V6 engine, and equipped with the competition-engineered High-Performance Off-Road Stability Suspension (HOSS) System.
For three consecutive years, Ford has partnered with King of the Hammers, reaffirming its commitment to the off-road enthusiast community. Along with being the official truck and SUV of the event, Ford also holds the same title with SCORE International Off-Road Racing, which hosts the Baja 500, Baja 1000, and San Felipe 250 championships. Furthermore, Ford is the official vehicle of Best in the Desert and the three-time Rebelle Rally X-Cross class champion with Bronco Sport.
Details of Ford's 2022 King of the Hammers win are available in this linked video. To keep on top of all of the latest Ford news, including vehicle awards and updates about the 2023 Bronco, make sure to continue reading our blog at Haldeman Ford Hamilton!