Polaris Announces 2025 Dakar Rally Driver Lineup

The Dakar Rally is widely regarded as one of the most difficult off-road races in the world. The race's 12 (or more) stages have competitors crossing brutal terrain over 14 (or more...) days of what proves to be not just a battle to win, but a battle to finish. For 2025, Polaris Factory Racing is returning to the ring with a lineup of highly achieved racers in tow, with sights set on gold.

Polaris Factory Racing driver Brock Heger will be competing in the Dakar Rally for the first time when the green flag drops. Riding right seat is teammate Max Eddy Jr., who will navigate as the duo tries to claim top spot on the podium. Meanwhile, Polaris' partnership with Sebastien Loeb Racing (SLR) continues for next year, with Xavier De Soultrait taking the wheel to defend his Side-by-Side Vehicle (SSV) class title, coming after taking two stage wins and multiple top finishes in 2024.

The chariot of choice for Polaris' 2025 Dakar Rally entrants is the Gen 2 RZR Pro R Factory machine. For 2025, Polaris has gone even further to help it remain successful. The UTV touts a one-piece chassis, a beefed up frame, new and improved electronics, and more. Of course, there's race-specific changes on board too, like integrated spare parts and tool storage. It's very much a dedicated race rig, but we've learned that you can buy your own civilian version in the upcoming slew of RZR Pro models, which has the same running gear as the factory race rig.

Polaris notes that the following are all shared across the vehicle you can see racing in Dakar and that which is available at your local dealer: ProStar Fury 2.0L engine, front and rear drive, transmission, power steering rack, wheel bearings, all CVT components, including belt, plus control arms, front and rear knuckles, ball joints, and trailing arms. That bodes well for durability.

"Securing the win last year was not only a monumental achievement for Polaris and SLR, but also a profound and dramatic demonstration of the performance, sophistication and sheer toughness of our RZR Pro R Factory platform," said Alex Scheuerell, Polaris Factory Racing Technical Director. "We’re thrilled to bring two of our Polaris Factory Race team members into this incredibly successful partnership with SLR. Brock Heger has shown he’s up for this challenge, after extraordinary performances throughout the SCORE series and the King of the Hammers Desert Challenge, and backed by Max’s extensive experience at Dakar, we're eager to see this duo compete on a global stage."

There's still time for Polaris to prepare, with the 2025 Dakar Rally kicking off January 3, 2025, in Bisha and finishing January 17, 2025, in Shubaytah, Saudi Arabia.