Polaris RZR Championship all set to go

The inaugural six-round Polaris RZR Australian Championship is ready for lift off, with the opener to be held at the Mt Kembla Dirt Bike Complex in NSW on Saturday, April 25 (Anzac Day).

And, thanks to Polaris Australia, motoring.com.au will be competing in the season opener, complete with some expert pre-race tuition from rally ace Cody Crocker to — hopefully — drill in some commonsense, mechanical sympathy, track etiquette and racecraft. We'll be joined in the three-car Polaris Dealer Team by award-winning actor Shane Jacobson, who burst onto the screens in the acclaimed Aussie movie Kenny, and long-time motorcycle stuntman and now more generic "action sports man" Matt Mingay.

Crocker has won the side-by-side class in the last three Australian Rally Championships.

The 26-driver RZR field is bursting with talent and includes European women's rally champion Molly Taylor and Aussie rally ace Spencer Lowndes, so it will certainly be a baptism of fire. Not that we are complete novices, as we rode a RZR XP 900 through the Mojave Desert in 2012 — brilliant fun, and the 8000-calorie cheeseburger we had at a remote saloon bar mid-drive was quite something else as well.

The RZR series, a collaboration between Polaris Australia, Sam Beck of Grunt Global and Justin Hunt, the man behind the Australasian Safari, will see competitors drive identical RZR XP 1000 side-by-sides in stadiums along the eastern seaboard.

The RZR XP 1000 has a 1000cc engine producing 110hp (82kW), which is put to the ground through an all-wheel drive system and ultra-long travel suspension.

Races will be about 10 minutes in length, and a typical competition session will consist of five races within a one-hour period. A ballot will be used to decide starting positions.

The RZRs will remain standard apart from the addition of mandated safety equipment such as a CAMS-approved roll cage, side rails and six-point harness for the driver.

The Mt Kembla Dirt Bike Complex is located at Lot 2 Harry Graham Drive, Mt Kembla, NSW. For venue directions, visit the website. Racing will commence at 10:00am, with part of the event's proceeds going to the Anzac Day Appeal.

Admission is $10 adults for adults, with children under 16 and Wollongong Motorcycling Club members admitted for free.