Juraj Varga traded in a single four-wheeler for an additional when the previous Quad rider made his début in a side-by-side car ultimately weekend’s Hungarian Baja. Though he was not categorized as a result of his Polaris RZR Professional R has not been homologated by the FIA, he feels he’s beginning to get comfy in his new confines.
As a noncompliant automobile, Varga’s Polaris raced as #000 and was excluded from the ultimate outcomes. Nani Roma’s Ford Raptor T1+ and Balázs Molnár’s Can-Am Maverick R had comparable preparations, although the previous was nonetheless permitted by organisers to be categorized for the general—albeit outdoors of the FIA European Baja Cup—and finally went on to win; Molnár’s Maverick R was formally considered a retirement by the Hungarian Cross-Nation Rally Championship, although he set the second quickest time in his class.
Even when Varga was not eligible to win within the SSV class, on-track expertise remains to be on-track expertise. Radovan Schneider, a member of his Varga Racing Staff, served as co-driver.
“We’ve been getting each stage and I’m feeling higher and higher behind the wheel,” wrote Varga. “One other new factor is that I don’t depend on myself for navigation, however get all directions from the passenger. Radovan Schneider stuffed the function of the navigator, who mastered his function and did an ideal job.
“After all, we didn’t keep away from minor technical points because the Polaris has solely been at house for 2 months and is restricted in kilometres pushed. However with the fitting staff, nothing is inconceivable.”
Varga switched to driving SSVs following the Amaury Sport Organisation’s choice to drop the Quad class from the Dakar Rally beginning in 2025. He and his fellow riders have been knowledgeable of the information through the World Rally-Raid Championship’s BP Final Rally-Raid in April; dismayed, he opted to withdraw from the race after one stage. In June, Varga acquired the Polaris from Quadmoto centrum.
He completed third within the last Dakar for quads in January, enhancing a place from his maiden begin the 12 months prior. 2023 additionally noticed him place third within the W2RC Quad standings with a finest run of second on the Rallye du Maroc.
It isn’t unusual for Quad riders to modify to an SSV, even earlier than their elimination from the Dakar programme. Josef Macháček, Ignacio Casale, and Sergei Kariakin received the Dakar on a quad earlier than changing into SSV drivers, whereas reigning Dakar winner and World Champion Manuel Andújar received in his maiden begin as an SSV navigator on the Rally Raid San Juan in July. 2023 W2RC runner-up Rodolfo Guillioli and 2023 Dakar third-place finisher Pablo Copetti have additionally made the transfer, whereas that 12 months’s champion Laisvydas Kancius is now a co-driver within the FIA’s premier Final class.
