From inside the Polaris RZR XP 900 UTV cockpit,
I had my foot mashed to the floor only slowing
down for the corners for the majority of the
race. With each passing lap, the course got
rougher and the ruts got deeper especially in
the corners. There were several UTVs that I
saw flipped over along the course that fell
victim to the rutted out whoops. Luckily I was
not one of those of drivers to land on their
lid, but if I did I would be pretty protected.
WORCS requires all side-by-side drivers to wear
fire retardant suits, boots, helmet, goggles,
and gloves. They also require side-by-sides
vehicles to have reinforced roll cage mounted
to the rear bumper along with door panels, metal
roof, driver’s side window nets, fire
extinguisher, and a five-point race harness.
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The
Coastal Racing Polaris RZR XP 900 has
all the mandatory items required to race
in the WORCS series like reinforced roll
cage mounted to rear bumper, five-point
harness, door panels, metal roof, fire
extinguisher, & drivers side nets |
The National Guard Polaris RZR XP 900 UTV was
equipped with all the mandatory safety equipment,
and it was also equipped with Beard aftermarket
seats that securely fasten you into the cockpit
by a five-point harness. Even tough the RZR
has two seats; one seat was removed to save
weight. I could not imagine racing with out
being strapped in tightly to a comfortable seat,
as I felt like I was riding a bucking bull through
the desert the entire race!
Putting power and traction to the ground were
Kenda 585 tires with an aggressive tread pattern.
The tires hooked up in both the loamy sand in
the desert and I was also able to kick the back
end out on the hard pact sections.
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Kenda
585 tires mounted on OMF bead lock wheels
gave the RZR XP 900 traction in the sand
& hard pack, while Tire Balls added
protection from getting a flat during
the race especially with the abundance
of cactus along the track |
For added protection, Tire Balls were installed
in all four Kenda tires, which is must have
for anyone planning on racing in the desert.
After the race, I saw cactus needles sticking
out the sides of the tires! The plants in the
deserts are as mean as they get, and do not
play nice with tires as they are prone to going
flat if you run over the wrong plant. To give
the tires even more protection, OMF bead lock
wheels were added to ensure, if a flat did happen,
that the tire would not come off the bead.