2012 Soboba Grand Prix
- Updated: February 21, 2012
While I was getting situated into my long drive to the West Coast, I received a call from Mike Lasher. He mentioned the Soboba Grand Prix race was coming up soon. That was the first I heard about the race. Unfortunately, there was no way that we would have my 2012 Polaris RZR-XP ready for that race. Fortunately, Polaris was going to loan us a brand spanking new RZR-4 XP 900. That’s when it hit me, RACE THE 4-SEATER!
Due to so many moving pieces to my West Coast trip, I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to race the Soboba GP, so I waited until the day of the race to register. Due to the late registration, I had to start 32nd out of 33 drivers. This turned out to be a big issue. As soon as the flag dropped, all 33 drivers piled into the first turn. There were at least a couple of vehicles on their lids as I drove around the first corner. I was able to pass about 15-20 drivers on the first lap, which greatly helped me work through the pack later in the race. The next few drivers were definitely harder to get around as their speed was improving lap after lap. I made a pass into forth place and soon after, the vehicle overheated and went into “limp mode”. This is by design to protect the engine during high heat conditions. This particular issue was caused by riding behind too many people through the wet conditions. The front-mounted radiator quickly filled with sand/mud and prevented proper cooling. After the engine dropped a few degrees, I headed back out to rejoin the race, only losing one position. That one position will prove to be very important as the race evolves.
Lap after lap, the 2012 Polaris RZR-4 XP 900 handled the brutal terrain with ease. The 2.5″ and 2″ Walker Evans shocks worked like a champ helping to soak up the huge braking bumps and sand/dirt whoops. I was able to pass handfuls of purpose-built race cars thanks to the extra stability and suspension of the new “grocery getter”. I was utterly blown away with how well this completely stock machine performed. And when I say “bone stock”, I literally mean we didn’t turn a screw on it. We didn’t even have time to dial in the shocks. Other than the addition of a few safety components (doors, harnesses, front bumper) from Pro Armor, this exact vehicle can be purchased at your local Polaris dealer. That’s a huge testament to the diligence and effectiveness of the Polaris engineering effort.
Not only does the new RZR-4 XP 900 make a great race machine, but it’s also a nearly perfect vehicle for the sand dunes, spending time with the family, and about any other sport activity you can throw at it. We’ll have more information on this soon.
Overall, I couldn’t have hoped for a better vehicle for this race. The only real trouble I had was due to the bad starting position. I’m excited to see this vehicle evolve and become an even more dominant vehicle than the RZR-XP 2-seater has been.
Pro Armor Doors and Latch System
About the only non-stock item on our race entry were a set of Pro Armor doors. Check the video below for a closer look at Pro Armor’s fanstastic latch system…
