Brock Heger has starred in all types of American off-road racing all through his life, whether or not it’s the twisty circuits of quick course, the rocks of Johnson Valley, or the sweeping deserts alongside the West Coast. In January 2025, he’ll embark on his largest journey but when he heads to Saudi Arabia for his Dakar Rally début, driving the Polaris RZR Manufacturing unit Professional R Manufacturing unit for Sébastien Loeb Racing within the SSV class. Polaris Manufacturing unit Racing team-mate Max Eddy Jr. will function his co-driver.
The Checkered Flag sat down with Heger on Monday to debate the deal coming collectively, how his profession with Polaris Manufacturing unit Racing introduced him so far, and the roles that defending Dakar SSV winner Xavier de Soultrait and SLR are enjoying in serving to him alter to a brand new self-discipline.
Getting the Alternative
In January, PFR held their annual pre-season press convention with Heger and his colleagues. At one level, they had been requested if they might contemplate racing the Dakar Rally if attainable; Heger was the primary to say one thing, rapidly answering that he “wouldn’t say no.” Even then, to have already got a journey lined up simply seven months later was far ahead of he would have anticipated.
“I didn’t know it will occur this quickly,” Heger admitted. “It was simply a type of issues once I began with Polaris and the entire new crew. I noticed that they had been going there with Xavier final 12 months and every part, so I simply type of figured that there was a chance there sooner or later. I simply wished to place my greatest foot ahead and do every part proper, every part I may on my finish to be doing good and successful races, and simply attempt to put myself in a very good scenario the place if the time does come that I’m on the checklist of going. With it popping out and taking place so quickly, I didn’t assume it will occur this quickly, however I’m trying ahead to it.”
Heger’s pedigree made loads of sense for Polaris while on the lookout for somebody from their manufacturing unit groups to attempt their hand at rally. He’s the reigning SCORE Worldwide Professional UTV Open champion, claiming the title in PFR’s début marketing campaign in 2023, whereas his 2024 started with two victories at King of the Hammers, the place he respectively gained in UTV Open and Professional Inventory Turbo on the Toyo Tires Desert Problem and Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship. Certainly, he cites “a number of issues” for influencing Polaris’ resolution.
“My lengthy profession, a few of it got here from my success final 12 months with Polaris and the entire new crew with SCi (Scanlon Clarke Included) and the success on the desert facet,” he started. “I believe rather a lot needed to include that and I believe rather a lot got here with it, my crew principals, everybody round me simply attempting to push me to be knowledgeable athlete. I believe it’s simply type of quite a few issues and simply being on the proper place on the proper time.”
Earlier than becoming a member of Polaris, Heger had been tearing it up in different off-road sequence with success in UTVs, vehicles, and buggies. His quick course achievements included the 2018 Crandon World Cup in Professional Lite, 5 class championships within the now-defunct Lucas Oil Off Street Racing Sequence, and Championship Off-Street’s Professional Lite and Professional Inventory SxS titles in 2021 adopted by a repeat of the latter a 12 months later. Having raced since he was seven, Heger additionally claimed three consecutive Finest In The Desert titles from 2017 to 2019 and competed within the Stadium Tremendous Vans throughout its inaugural season in 2013.
Given these accolades, he appears ready so as to add one more self-discipline to his résumé.
“I’ve accomplished a variety of types of racing and various kinds of terrain,” commented Heger. “I believe it has helped me all through the years with quick course and with the ability to have that depth to doing each sort of desert racing, totally different states and totally different terrain, that facet of stuff. I dwell within the desert; rising up across the desert scene and attempting to learn terrain and every part, I really feel like I do fairly good at it. Simply having the various type of background on a variety of racing within the grime, I believe that’s type of helped me trying ahead to placing it to the take a look at.”
The Polaris RZR Professional R Manufacturing unit that Heger will pilot shares loads of overlap together with his desert UTV. Staff technical director Alex Scheuerell instructed The Checkered Flag throughout the newest Dakar that the rally model, labelled internally because the “worldwide or FIA” mannequin, makes use of an an identical engine and customarily the identical parts because the North American variant, although variations embody a windshield and extra bodywork like sidepods for spare elements and to adjust to FIA SSV regulation. A lot of the rally automobile was ultimately used to design the second-generation RZR Professional R that PFR launched for 2024.
“I’ve pushed it quite a few instances and it’s actually enjoyable to drive,” Heger stated. “It’s very, similar to our race automobiles now, our Gen-2 race automobiles. There’s only a few minor issues which have their variations and it’s good understanding that they’re similar to our automobiles now. When it comes time to go in there, it’s not going to be one thing fully totally different.”
Polaris Manufacturing unit Racing
Polaris has been on a tear since PFR’s formation. The crew’s drivers gained their class in any respect 4 SCORE races in 2023 and pushed their streak to each rounds of 2024 to date courtesy of Cayden MacCachren, who leads the Professional UTV Open factors. Heger gained the Baja 500 and Baja 400 en path to his 2023 crown, and is at the moment third midway by way of the 2024 World Desert Championship with a second on the San Felipe 250 and twelfth on the Baja 500.
When MacCachren spoke with TCF after his San Felipe win, he was vocal about how Heger, Eddy, and boss-slash-driver Craig Scanlon have improved him as a driver. Heger echoed the sentiment on Monday, describing their relationship as principally being buddies however rivals.
“With this complete crew, we simply push one another to be higher,” Heger defined. “We race in opposition to one another and whatnot, however we attempt to push one another to be the most effective that we will. We attempt to push our tools to make the tools the most effective that we will, so it’s good having a bunch of aggressive team-mates that simply need the most effective out of everybody.”
MacCachren additionally had loads of reward for Heger’s particular person driving prowess, going so far as to name him a “generational expertise behind the wheel. He’s pure, he was born with it, clearly he’s been racing rather a lot, however he has one thing that not lots of people have: it’s the hyperlink from his mind to his arms to, actually, his butt within the seat. He simply feels what the automobile is doing and might reply to that so effectively.”
Heger was definitely flattered when his team-mate’s description was relayed to him, particularly as he isn’t totally positive how he would describe his personal driving model himself. MacCachren’s phrases particularly resonated with Heger as somebody who idolised his father and off-road legend Rob MacCachren rising up.
“I really feel I’ve a very good really feel to my tools and with the ability to put it to the take a look at with attempting to maintain the automobile collectively. I don’t know. I’ve accomplished it for thus lengthy, it’s laborious to slim it again,” Heger commented. “It’s very type of Cayden to say such as a result of his dad is the true definition of a GOAT. His dad is somebody I’ve regarded as much as my whole profession beginning briefly course, that’s what his dad did, after which his profession in desert. Simply attempting to be like Rob, he’s among the best to ever do it, and it’s clearly actually cool to look as much as him and now clearly to be racing together with his son.”
Eddy is a brand new addition to the PFR driver line-up for 2024, sitting thirteenth within the SCORE Professional UTV Open standings. A five-time Baja 1000 bike champion, he had beforehand run the 2019 Dakar Rally with Cole Potts and was Scanlon’s co-driver earlier than being promoted to the left-side seat. Regardless of his new job, he known as the pictures for Heger within the UTV Hammers Championship since he wished to achieve extra rock racing expertise; he adopted up by ending runner-up to Heger within the Toyo Tires Desert Problem.
Though co-drivers are sometimes a little bit of a ‘lifeless weight’ for Heger, the tandem labored so effectively collectively that Polaris requested Eddy to serve in the identical capability for Dakar. Soultrait had additionally been instrumental in convincing the crew to recruit Eddy as a result of the connection between a driver and navigator is of important significance, whatever the latter’s {qualifications} on the whole.
“It’s big to have Max going and driving with me,” stated Heger. “He’s accomplished it earlier than so his experience on that facet goes to be big. He’s a good friend of mine, he’s a team-mate of mine, he’s an American as effectively, so to have Max going, having him in the correct seat simply provides me that further fringe of confidence. I’m actually trying ahead to having him there.
“I’ve lacked possibly a little bit bit of getting a very good co-driver and every part that Max confirmed there. With Dakar developing and needing a very essential co-driver, I felt prefer it was crucial to get him there.”
The Dakar Journey
“I’m trying ahead to the journey. I’m not constructive on what that journey appears like, however I’m trying ahead to the problem.”
– Brock Heger
Rally raids in Saudi Arabia should not precisely the identical as a desert race in Baja California. Fellow American and SSV competitor Sara Value, who talked with TCF earlier than her personal Dakar début final 12 months, described the common Dakar stage as being like a “Baja 500 each single day” for 2 weeks. In fact, Heger is up for the problem.
“I’m trying ahead to the journey. I’m not constructive on what that journey appears like, however I’m trying ahead to the problem,” said Heger. “I’m trying ahead to racing with a very good crew, racing with Xavier which gained final 12 months. He’s been very, very useful within the journey going there. Working with all the blokes, working with Polaris, simply attempting to be the most effective we will daily on the stage, whether or not that’s making the automobile higher or simply specializing in totally different driving methods to attempt to be higher. Simply trying ahead to the journey as an entire.”
When he arrives on the bivouac, he’ll be a part of a small however adorned group of American rally raiders. Rally raid is a distinct segment motorsport in the US due to its inaccessibility in comparison with different types of off-road racing, being rooted on the alternative facet of the Atlantic in Africa and Eurasia; though Mexico has rallies, they’re few in quantity in comparison with conventional desert occasions like what SCORE presents, and their prominence grows the additional south one travels, albeit extra distant from the U.S. in consequence. Ricky Brabec, who gained the 2024 version for bikes, even opined in January that it’s troublesome for his countrymen to interrupt into the game on account of dwindling manufacturing unit help.
As somebody lucky sufficient to have stated producer backing, Heger appears to profit from the chance whereas carrying the Stars the Stripes within the course of.
“It’d be cool to go and signify USA. I’m from a small city in Imperial Valley, a small farm city, so there’s going to be a variety of small city within the highlight,” Heger remarked. “Simply trying ahead to the entire journey and being one of many few People to go and race it. Seth (Quintero) and A.J. (Jones) and the few that go, they’ve accomplished rather well, so simply to attempt to preserve that going.”
Apart from working the remainder of his 2024 schedule with PFR, which consists of this weekend’s Vegas to Reno, the Baja 400, and the equally legendary Baja 1000, Heger will put together for Dakar by doing navigation coaching with Jimmy Lewis in September and testing with SLR in Morocco. A 2024 Off-Street Motorsports Corridor of Fame inductee, Lewis completed third amongst bikes on the 2000 Dakar Rally and runs the Jimmy Lewis Off-Street Using Faculty, which has taught these like Value and Brabec for rally raids.
Heger expects the Morocco take a look at to be “be one thing like stage or mock rallies” with Soultrait and the SLR crew. It’s principally a substitute for doing the Rallye du Maroc, additionally in Morocco and generally used as a costume rehearsal for these heading to Dakar; SLR didn’t run the 2023 race.
“There’s much more preparation that’s going to enter it,” he defined. “It’s going to be a variety of coaching on the roadbook facet of issues. I haven’t fairly began, however we’re getting actually near beginning that enterprise. I’m trying ahead to it. I wish to put in all of the work that I probably can to point out up and be ready and and simply to take it day-to-day.”
Whereas the rally crosses off a ticks off a significant merchandise, Heger admits he has but to “put the ‘what’s subsequent’ on the bucket checklist after Dakar. I’m simply type of specializing in what I’m doing now and specializing in Dakar and simply going to attempt to do the most effective I can and get by way of Dakar and set one other goal after that. However for now, it’s simply clicking them off.” A lot of this may be attributed to the truth that knowledgeable racer’s profession can finish at any time with a poor efficiency, which means they like to give attention to what is straight away subsequent.
In any case, when January arrives, he might be firstly and hopes to shine.
“It’s clearly an honour,” Heger concluded. “There’s lots of people pushing for this, whether or not it’s my crew principals from SCi and on the desert facet and everybody inside Polaris that consider that I can go there and do them proud.”
The 2025 Dakar Rally will happen on 3–17 January.
