Question:
Dear Motorhead:
I don’t understand why Polaris has moved most of its sleds to the Rush platform, yet continue to race the prevoius IQ platform.
Is it because the glue won’t hold up? How is Polaris proving design robustness?
It does not make sense.
– Concerned
Reply:
Thanks for your email!
The IQ Racer chassis which Polaris has been using for sno-X duty most of the past decade is not anything like a trail IQ.
The sled is a purpose-built racer – in the same vein as Arctic Cat’s new Sno-Pro. The sled was never destined for anything but limited production. It simply is not suited for trail use or able to hold variant engines.
That being said, the IQ Racer is the iconic and most successful race chassis of the past five years. The problem is this – many new production trail sled platforms (like the new Ski-Doo XP) do not make great racers -as was the situation in the late 90’s and into the early 00’s when OE’s could beef up trail platforms and race them with great success.
The sport of sno-X and trail riding have begun to part company in terms of what is required to make an outstanding vehicle for two very different disciplines. The XP has not achieved anywhere near the success of the former Rev platform but the XP is a far better trail sled than old Rev ever was.
So, will Polaris race the Rush? I seriously doubt it – unless possibly in XC competition. I believe the Rush is an exceptional trail sled but in the same way the XP is not a great racer, I think this may ring true as well for the Rush.
It’s interesting that this saga has been unfolding all while the sport of sno-X racing has been declining in both participation, popularity and more importantly, influence at the OEM level.
We don’t think this is a bad trend – it is what it is and the market has had it’s fling with sno-X the same way oval racing’s influence declined in the late 1980’s and early in the 1990’s.
Polaris will continue to build a purpose-built racer – the IQ Racer – because it is still super competitive. The question which begs to be answered is this – with the Ski-Doo XP not achieving significant success in three years of sno-X competition – would Ski-Doo build a purpose-built sno-X weapon under the current economic and market trends?
Thanks for your question – it is a good one!
Motorhead Mark
