Ford Raptor Safety Car races into 2023 with bp Ultimate

Supercars’ official vehicles have a striking new look in 2023, headlined by the introduction of the all-new 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor – the toughest and most powerful Ranger ever produced – as the bp Ultimate Safety Car for the Repco Supercars Championship.

The news comes as part of the extension of bp’s partnership with Supercars as the Official Fuel Supplier of the championship, as well as bp’s wider commitment to motorsport across Australia and New Zealand.

Among the new initiatives in the extended partnership is the introduction of bp E75 Racing Fuel, a lower carbon fuel* which is now used across the entire Repco Supercars Championship grid.

A Ford Performance product, the Ford Ranger Raptor is powered by a high performance 3.0-litre V6 Twin Turbo EcoBoost engine delivering 292kW and 583Nm torque, enabling phenomenal performance on and off-road, and an electronically controlled active exhaust system for mild-to-wild engine sounds.

The twin-turbo petrol engine is complemented by state-of-the-art live-valve suspension and cutting-edge electronics which will all be put to use while pacing the field of 25 Gen3 Supercars.

“We’ve been delighted with the first three years of our partnership with Supercars and want to continue this journey with the sport over the next few years." said Leigh Taylor, GM AsPac Brand and Communications for bp.

"Safety is paramount to all of us at bp, so to have the opportunity to continue our support with the bp Ultimate Safety Car is something we're really proud of."

“We look forward to the new generation of the Supercars Championship with bp and we hope fans are excited for what’s in-store in 2023 and beyond.”

The new-generation Safety Car will be supported by the Mustang GT bp Ultimate Race Control 1, which acts as a reserve Safety Car should any issues arise with the primary vehicle.

The Ford Escape ST-Line serves as the bp Ultimate Medical Car, which Supercars’ long-serving medical delegate Dr. Carl Le will be aboard throughout the year.

Lastly, a second Ford Escape ST-Line will operate as bp Ultimate Race Control 2, which is used for various official purposes and also as a reserve vehicle.

The Ford cars will be in action throughout the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship, with the Ford Ranger Raptor making its debut as the bp Ultimate Safety Car at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint, April 28-30.

In addition to official duties including opening and closing the circuit and transporting officials, the vehicles will also be utilised in 2023 to take select lucky fans around the circuit during dedicated Course Car Experience sessions.

Ford Australia General Manager of Marketing Communications, John Hatzimanolis, said that Ford was excited to introduce the Ranger Raptor as Safety Car for the 2023 season.

“Ranger is one of Australia’s best-selling vehicles, and the Raptor is the Ford Performance variant, built to tackle almost anything you can throw at it,” said Hatzimanolis.

“We’re looking forward to surprising people with the performance and versatility of Raptor as the bp Ultimate Safety Car this year, it will be fantastic to see our flagship performance truck leading the Supercars pack.”

Supercars General Manager – Commercial, Jamie Black, said: “We’re very pleased to have renewed and extended our deal with bp through to at least the end of 2024.

“bp is a brand known for its innovation and focus on sustainability, and we are delighted to have collaborated with bp to introduce our lower carbon bp E75 Racing Fuel* for the beginning of the Gen3 era of Supercars this year.

“Having Ford’s continued support as Official Vehicle Supplier of the Championship is fantastic too, the Ford vehicle range provides us with the ideal line-up of vehicles to support all aspects of our sport.

“To have such well-known international brands partner with Supercars is tremendous news for the category, and we look forward to continuing these fruitful partnerships in 2023 and beyond.”

The all-new bp Ultimate Safety Car and official vehicles will return to track with the Repco Supercars Championship this weekend in Western Australia at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint, April 28-30.

Tickets are available through Supercars.com and Ticketek.

*New bp E75 Racing Fuel has a lower Well-to-Wheel carbon intensity compared to the fuel produced and supplied by bp for last season’s Repco Supercars Championship.