What is Asia Cross Country Rally?

Asia Cross Country Rally commonly known as "AXCR or Asian Rally" is held in August every year starting from Thailand to various countries. Every year's route is unique.
Since 1996 till 2019, Asia Cross Country Rally has been held across the following countries: Kingdom of Thailand, Malaysia, Republic of Singapore, People's Republic of China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Kingdom of Cambodia, and Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Asia Cross Country Rally is sanctioned by The Federation International Automobile (FIA) - the same governing body as Formula-1, World Rally Championship (WRC) and Dakar Rally. Asia Cross Country Rally is currently, the largest cross-country rally event in Asia.
Asia Cross Country Rally was intended to be "the ultimate" test for all aspects of both the competitor's and team's skills to it limits by challenging the participants with multiple combinations of terrains ranging from mountainous area, jungle, swamp, beach side, river crossing, desert, plantation, tarmac to circuit - along with the many unpredictable weather conditions that mother nature produces in Asia.

Ford Thailand announced its partnership with legendary race team Feelinq Innovation Motorsport in hitting the tracks of Asia Cross Country Rally (AXCR) 2023 with the Next-Generation Ranger Raptor, only months after conquering the 2022 SCORE-International Baja 1000 and winning the showroom class at Finke Desert Race in Australia. Praised ‘unbeatable’ by Thai fans, the Ranger Raptor tackled more than 2,000km of varying and challenging terrains from Pattaya, Thailand, to Pakse, Laos, running from 13 – 19 August 2023.

Asia Cross Country Rally is currently the largest cross-country rally event in Asia. Sanctioned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Royal Automobile Association of Thailand (RAAT), and the Association of Motorcycle Sport Club 360 Degrees, and is intended to be ‘the ultimate’ test for off-road vehicles in the region.

Led by Team Director Michael Freeman, Feeliq Innovation Motorsport accumulated its long race history on circuits with more than ten team championships since 2012. In 2023, Ford Thailand sponsors the team by providing the high-performance Ranger Raptor along with supporting parts. Combining the team’s vehicle modification expertise with the Raptor’s unmatched off-road capabilities, this marks the first time the Ranger Raptor entered Asia Cross Country Rally in Thailand.

Freeman piloted the Ranger Raptor (#124) in the 2023 AXCR with his navigator Chaiya Chommalee – a professional rally expert who has been racing for more than forty years.

The Next-Gen Ford Ranger Raptor entered the Production Asia (T2A) class at AXCR, which categorized race vehicles that keep original factory engines and parts. The Raptor has been equipped with required safety harnesses and roll bars. New BF-Goodrich tires for extreme off-road conditions, mudguards, strengthened underbody protection as well as spare tires and a winch in the truck bed are installed. Decked in the Code Orange livery that displays Ford Performance DNA and this partnership efforts, the team adjusted the vehicle’s ride height with threaded bodies; keeping the factory FOX shock absorbers, while leveraging the original 2.0L diesel bi-turbo engine from the previous generation Ranger.