2024 Dakar Rally: Xavier de Soultrait wins in SSV for Polaris

Rally raid’s side-by-side classes have been a playground for Can-Am in recent years, having won the Dakar Rally every year since 2018 in both the production-based T4 (now SSV) and race-spec T3 (Challenger) divisions. Hoping to break their iron fist, Polaris elected to break out their Polaris RZR Pro R Factory that dominated the deserts of Baja California in 2023 for the 2024 Dakar Rally, fielded by Sébastien Loeb Racing.

Despite being severely outnumbered by Can-Am Mavericks, Polaris Factory Racing technical director Alex Scheuerell told The Checkered Flag he was “very confident” that the Pro R Factory can impress with Xavier de Soultrait and Florent Vayssade behind the wheel. Soultrait did not let him down.

In just his second Dakar on four wheels after previously competing on a bike, Soultrait held off the Can-Am of Jérôme de Sadeleer for Polaris’ first Dakar victory since Leandro Torres won the inaugural SSV class crown in 2017; Polaris had also won adjacent SSV classes at the Dakar every year since 2013, making 2024 their seventh win total. Soultrait set the tone early by winning the Prologue before a run by Can-Ams took place over the first four stages with those like Gerard Farrés and World Rally-Raid Championship favourites João Ferreira and Sara Price leading the way.

Soultrait broke the trend with back-to-back wins in Stage #5 and the Chrono Stage, moving him up to third overall. He took the top spot from Seaidan after finishing second to Ferreira in Stage #7. Seaidan struggled the next day and fell off, as did Ferreira a stage later due to losing fuel pressure, which gave Soultrait a half-hour cushion over the field. This was quickly whittled down when he received ten minutes of penalties for not letting the faster Price overtake him during Stage #10, and Sadeleer winning the penultimate leg enabled him to slice the gap down to less than three minutes.

Although Sadeleer beat Soultrait in Stage #12, he only did so by twenty-four seconds. Vayssade won the stage to cap off an impressive effort for SLR and the Pro R Factory.

“It’s truly the culmination of a dream,” said Soultrait. “It’s hard for me to believe that we won this Dakar. I think we raced intelligently, we put pressure on, but we never overdrove. It was our first race with this new Polaris RZR Pro R Factory, and frankly, we couldn’t have asked for better. I am very happy to have shared this with Martin, we really made a great team, and I of course want to thank the entire Loeb Racing and Polaris Factory Racing team who prepared a perfect car for us; this victory is the fruition of all the teams’ efforts.”

While coming up short, a runner-up finish is still something to be proud of for Sadeleer, who made his return to the Dakar after injuries prevented him from racing in 2023. Seaidan joined them on the podium, beating Price by seven minutes, and became the W2RC SSV points leader as Soultrait and Sadeleer are not registered for the championship.

Price was the first American woman to win a Dakar stage when she claimed Stage #10, the same day that her boyfriend Ricky Brabec won the leg in RallyGP en route to his second Dakar bike triumph. Ferreira, who won in his SSV début in Morocco last October, rounded out the top five.

Emilija Gelažninkienė recorded an impressive ninth-place class finish, rebounding from a disastrous start when she was flipped by another car in the opening stage. Christine GZ, another Dakar newcomer, finished thirteenth. The two and Price were among five women competing in the class along with Rebecca Busi, who finished twenty-second, and Maha Al-Hamali, who retired after a Chrono Stage rollover.

SSV overall results

SSV stage winners

W2RC SSV standings

For readability, competitors registered for the championship who have yet to earn points are not listed.

Drivers’ standings

Co-drivers’ standings