A race-modified Polaris RZR Pro R took on the Goodwood hill climb at this year’s Festival of Speed – the first time in Polaris history that the brand has taken to the legendary tarmac hillclimb.
Known as the world’s greatest celebration of motorsport culture, the Festival of Speed takes place annually at the historic Goodwood House, welcoming well over 200,000 visitors to a long weekend filled with unrestricted access to the best that the automotive and motorsport industry has to offer. Venturing out of the off-road arena on Friday 14th, this was the first-ever Polaris RZR to go up the famous hill climb at the prestigious festival.
Weaving its way through the centre of the event, the race-ready Polaris RZR Pro R, driven by experienced rally pilot and Polaris UK ambassador, Alex Parpottas, completed the challenging 1.16-mile track in style with the Pro R’s distinct angular design and off-road racing set-up.
Owned and built by Alex himself, who specialises in custom-built vehicles with his company Buzz Special Vehicles, the RZR Pro R seen at Goodwood is the same vehicle that has just returned from taking on the Rally Albania with Alex in June. Not only did the team achieve a win for the SSV class but they also won the rally against the other car and quad competitors – an accomplishment rarely seen in cross-country rally racing.
“Anyone in our industry knows what a huge deal the Goodwood hill climb is,” said Alex Parpottas. “So it’s a great feeling to do it in my race-built RZR Pro R when we’ve just come back from a big win at Rally Albania. The Pro R is definitely something unique to the big crowds who are used to seeing the modern hypercars and historic classics that run for the majority of the weekend.”
With the Festival of Speed being so much more than just a hillclimb, the RZR Pro R returned to the off-road arena for the remainder of the weekend where its true off-road performance came to life.
Alex continued: “It was a pleasure to drive the Pro R in the off-road arena throughout the weekend. It’s a purpose-built dirt course that plays well to the strengths of this vehicle. It handles beautifully around the track and the big jumps are always a crowd favourite. I think people are always taken aback by just how capable this vehicle is.”
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Note to editors: For more information on Alex’s Rally Albania win visit https://blog.polarisbritain.com/2023/07/17/how-alex-parpottas-won-rally-albania-with-the-polaris-rzr-pro-r/.
About Polaris
As the global leader in powersports, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII) pioneers product breakthroughs and enriching experiences and services that have invited people to discover the joy of being outdoors since our founding in 1954. Polaris’ high-quality product line-up includes the Polaris RANGER®, RZR® and Polaris GENERAL™ side-by-side off-road vehicles; Sportsman® all-terrain off-road vehicles; military and commercial off-road vehicles; snowmobiles; Indian Motorcycle® mid-size and heavyweight motorcycles; Slingshot® moto-roadsters; Aixam quadricycles; Goupil electric vehicles; and pontoon and deck boats, including industry-leading Bennington pontoons. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a robust portfolio of parts, garments, and accessories. Proudly headquartered in Minnesota, Polaris serves more than 100 countries across the globe.