The original Polaris RZR proved that a sport side-by-side could handle much more than recreational trail riding when Mitch Guthrie drove his modified machine to victory in the 2009 King of the Hammers UTV race.
Polaris RZR Finishes First and Second
Held at the Johnson Valley OHV Area in Southern California, the 48-mile race combined high-speed desert terrain with the demanding rock-crawling obstacles that would make King of the Hammers one of the country’s best-known off-road events.
Guthrie completed the course in a modified Polaris RZR to claim the UTV victory. The Jagged X racing team finished second in another RZR, giving Polaris the top two positions.
The result was an important early demonstration of the RZR platform’s versatility. Introduced during 2007 as a 2008 model, the original Polaris RZR 800 was considerably smaller and less powerful than today’s competition UTVs. Its compact chassis and maneuverability, however, made it well suited to the combination of desert racing and technical rock crawling encountered at King of the Hammers.
An Early Milestone for UTV Racing
In 2009, purpose-built sport side-by-sides were still a relatively new part of the off-road racing world. The RZR’s first- and second-place finishes showed how quickly these vehicles were moving beyond trail recreation and into serious competition.
King of the Hammers would eventually become one of the most important events in UTV racing, attracting heavily modified machines, factory teams and many of the industry’s leading drivers. Guthrie’s 2009 victory stands as an early chapter in both the event’s UTV history and the development of the Polaris RZR platform.
