Last year, The Drive broke news that Red Bull Global Rallycross was announcing a new Polaris class to supplement its current competition offerings starting with the 2018 season. Last month, we learned that the Polaris that would be raced would be the Polaris RZR RS1. Today, Red Bull Global Rallycross released some details on the Polaris racing.
“This class opens up GRC rallycross racing to a whole new world of competitors, and we’re sure that our future champions will be born in this class,” said Colin Dyne, Red Bull GRC CEO.
Red Bull Global Rallycross released the details on the modifications that will be necessary to the Polaris RZR RS1 to be race ready. The RZR RS1s will be fitted with what Red Bull Global Rallycross calls the Polaris GRC Competition Pack. The Polaris GRC Competition Pack was developed in partnership with PJ’s Performance in Scottsdale, AZ. PJ’s Performance is lead by former NASCAR, IMSA, and Indy driver P. J. Jones. According to the press release, the Polaris GRC Competition Pack includes a custom roll cage, racing seat, wide-track suspension, brakes and performance modifications. The package is available on a first-come, first served basis for $28,500. Red Bull GRC is opening reservations for the series on March 13th.
The 2018 schedule for the Polaris GRC championship:
Rounds 1-2: Buffalo, NY (June 9-10)
Round 3: New Orleans, LA (June 23-24)
Rounds 4-5: Los Angeles, CA (July 7-8)
Rounds 6-7: Indianapolis, IN (August 11-12)
Rounds 8-9: Atlantic City, NJ (August 25-26)
Round 10: Seattle, WA (September 15-16)
Rounds 11-12: Lydden Hill, UK (October 27-28)
This Polaris class news comes after a recent shakeup of GRC’s current class line up, Supercar and Lites. The Supercar class will be leaving in favor of a Gold class in 2018 and a Platinum class will arrive in 2019 which will feature a one-design rallycross vehicle to be used by all competitors. Eventually, Red Bull GRC is planning on going full electric.
The Red Bull Global Rallycross series is clearly in a state of flux to rebuild for the future, but with all the changes it is still one of the most entertaining forms of motorsport. I know a few The Drive writers will be at events this year.