Minneapolis, Minn. – This year’s King of the Hammers (KOH) saw almost double the entries, 60 side-by-sides with the most being RZRs, lining up to try to take “The Hammer” and a brand-new 2016 RZR XP Turbo EPS home, which was offered to the Pro Class winner.
The Polaris RZR was the official side-by-side of the race.
Three Polaris factory racers lined up their Polaris RZRs for the toughest off-road race in the world and when the dust settled, all three finished in the top five.
In 2011, Polaris Factory Race Team Jagged X took “The Hammer” with Brandon Schueler at the wheel of his Polaris RZR. Five years later, Jagged X was back on top with Blake Van De Loo piloting and Chad Hummer co-piloting the No. 1919 RZR XP 1000 EPS to the win.
Van De Loo had a great starting position as seventh off the line and was able to pass many of the cars early in the race. The No. 1919 dueled with the 2015 Hammers champion Mitch Guthrie in his No. 1 RZR XP Turbo EPS for most of the rest of the race until Guthrie broke a heim joint on a lower control arm and had to repair it. The No. 1919 then had clear sailing the rest of the way and crossed the line more than 30 minutes ahead of the rest of the field.
Polaris factory racer Branden Sims, in his No. 1913 RZR XP 1000, would finish second and Chad Hughes, in the No. 1295 RZR XP 1000 EPS, would finish third, giving RZR a clean sweep of the podium.
The RZR XP Turbo EPS made its inaugural run at the KOH this year with Polaris factory racer Mitch Guthrie. Six-time KOH champion Guthrie, running the No. 1 plate, finished fifth, with RZRs finishing in four of the top five spots.
