Polaris reveals RZR Pro R Factory for 2023 desert endeavour

The Polaris RZR Pro R is one of the top models for UTVs in the off-roading market, and it has unsurprisingly been a popular choice among racers in SCORE International and even the World Rally-Raid Championship. On Wednesday, Polaris Factory Racing revealed a beefed-up version that is strictly built for motorsport.

Dubbed the Polaris RZR Pro R Factory, the vehicle utilises a Polaris ProStar 2-litre, four-cylinder engine with 225 horsepower housed inside a lightweight chassis that meets both desert and FIA rally raid regulations along with rear-mounted radiators. FOX provides 3.0 Live Valve X2 internal bypass shock absorbers and a Polaris’ trademark DYNAMIX DV active suspension system to ensure stability in harsh desert conditions.

Polaris Factory Racing will field three of the Pro R Factory during the 2023 SCORE season and at Best In The Desert‘s Vegas to Reno for factory drivers Brock Heger, Cayden MacCachren, and Austin Weiland. Each of the trio’s cars have different liveries, with Heger’s #1896 being a neon yellow/green, MacCachren’s #1821 purple, and Weiland’s #1827 a bold blue. Their first race is the SCORE season-opening San Felipe 250 on 29 March to 2 April, where they will compete in the Pro UTV Open class.

Although Polaris Factory Racing is only competing in North American desert competition, it is capable of racing in the FIA’s T4 category for production side-by-side vehicles (SSVs); eight Polaris RZR Pro R entries took part at the Dakar Rally in January in T4. Although the RZR Pro R Factory is a racing-specific counterpart, it would not compete in the T3 class as those are for fully prototype models.

The Pro R was the best performing UTV at the 2022 Baja 1000 when Branden Sims finished twenty-fourth overall to also win Pro UTV Open. Sims, Andrew Carlson, Wayne and Kristen Matlock, Wes Miller, and Mitch Guthrie are Polaris RZR factory drivers though operate their own programmes and teams without full Polaris input like the flagship team.

Polaris Factory Racing was revealed last week.

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