Ford Performance
The Nürburgring in Germany is one of the world’s most iconic racetracks, so Formula Drift wheelman Vaughn Gittin Jr. was excited to push the limits on the legendary course with a Mustang RTR Spec 5-D drift car. Bad news for Gittin Jr., there was rain on the day he was there. Not ideal conditions for drifting a supercharged Mustang, but the professional drifter would not be stopped by the rainy weather and drifted in a Ford F-150 Raptor.
Gittin Jr. is a self-taught professional drifter from Maryland who competes in the Formula Drift series. Gittin Jr. won his first Formula Drift title in 2010, is a three-time World Drift Series champion (2011, 2012, and 2013), and was awarded the Ace Driver of the Decade title in 2013. He has won more tandem battle victories than any other driver in 10 years of Formula Drift history. This dude knows how to drift, but what about drifting in a pickup truck on a wet racetrack in Germany?
On a track that is dominated by supercars such as the Nissan GT-R NISMO and the Lamborghini Huracán LP, it was interesting to see a pickup truck race around the ‘Ring. The 12.9-mile course challenges sports cars, but Gittin Jr. was eager to take on the treacherous track with a Ford Raptor and he did not disappoint as his pickup truck danced all around the track.
The Ranger is built for off-roading with a raised suspension, but this truck does have some giddy-up with a biturbocharged 3.5-liter V6 pumping out 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque. While the Raptor didn’t eclipse the top lap time of 6:47.25 by a Porsche 911 GT2 RS on the Green Hell track, the Raptor put on an impressive drifting extravaganza. On the bright side, Gittin Jr. probably set the record at Nürburgring for the fastest run by a pickup truck.