Bailey Cole is one of the top rock crawlers today as the reigning Ultra4 USA 4600 champion, but can his skills translate to rally raid in Southeast Asia?

Cole will make his Asia Cross Country Rally debut in August, driving a Ford Ranger Raptor for Ford Thailand. He’s a rare case of an American attempting the AXCR, which is taking place in Thailand and Cambodia for 2025; Priscila Cristina Chen Hsu was the last competitor to fly the Stars and Stripes when she navigated for Yi Wen Chen in 2023.

A Ford Performance factory driver, he usually races a Bronco in Ultra4. In 2024, Cole won the 4600 title with class victories at King of the Hammers and the NorCal Stampede. He also topped the 4600 Stock class at the Vegas to Reno.

His 2025 season began with triple duty at King of the Hammers. After finishing eighth with a Polaris RZR in the Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship, he and his Bronco were runner-up at the Every Man Challenge and 57th in the Race of Kings.

This past weekend, Cole competed in a cross-country rally for the first time when he entered the second round of the Thailand Rally Raid Championship. While he did not finish, he was mainly focused on gaining seat time ahead of the AXCR.

His Ford Ranger Raptor was prepared by Feeliq Innovation Motorsport in partnership with Ford Performance and RMA Special Vehicles. Save for basic safety regulations like a roll cage, it is almost fully stock.

Michael Freeman will team up with Cole for the AXCR. An Australian, Freeman finished seventh in the T2A-D class at the 2024 AXCR and was second in the latest Thailand Rally Raid Championship weekend.

The 2025 Asia Cross Country Rally will run on August 8–16.

Featured image credit: Ford Performance