ABOUT THIS ENTRY
In 2023, the #1 powersports manufacturer, Polaris, took a major risk and set out to partner with like-minded brands and develop their new Factory Race Team - an industry first. Polaris successfully engaged Wasserman to lead partnership sales and manage the race team, demonstrating effective collaboration and relationship building. Subsequently, Wasserman identified and introduced the industry’s first factory side-by-side race team, Polaris Factory Race Team.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
Backed by nearly 70 years of innovation, Polaris is not only responsible for quite literally inventing the performance side-by-side category, but it also has a long and storied history of winning at the highest levels of off-road racing, so it simply makes sense that Polaris continues driving the industry forward yet again with the first, full-fledged UTV class factory racing program.
Racing remains at the epicenter of Polaris’ business, driving performance innovations that inspire the products that are brought to showroom floors—ultimately pushing the industry forward and advancing the consumer side-by-side market every day.
The Polaris Factory Racing team enjoys invaluable sponsorship support from a lineup of top brands that share the same commitment to premium quality and elite performance, subsequently raising the industry standard higher than ever for action sports partnerships.
Objective
Over the last several years, it became very apparent that the off-road racing industry was missing something significant—something that combined stellar engineering, up and coming racing stars and a way to reach dedicated side-by-side fans across the world like never before—thus came the birth of the Polaris Factory Race Team.
While factory-backed racing teams are not particularly new to the off-road world, Polaris completely revitalized the concept by bringing together the first-ever full factory off-road racing team to the side-by-side world.
Strategy & Execution
Polaris demonstrated innovation by establishing the Factory Race Team, a first in the UTV industry, showcasing their willingness to take risks and explore new opportunities that ultimately benefit fans of the sport. Between passion of the fans and passion of the drivers, engineers and executives alike, the Polaris Factory Race Team coming to fruition was a dream come true.
In their first year, the groundbreaking team secured over ten paying sponsors, including non-endemic brands such as Synchrony Financial and Rockford Fosgate. Polaris also received substantial product support from various brands, demonstrating its ability for building industry relationships, boosting awareness for partners and bringing fans closer to the most premier brands in the racing space.
Additionally, every Polaris Factory Pro R car completed every race mile in their debut season, which was a massive achievement of the team and highlights the team’s creativity in engineering, preparation and dedication to success.
Organizations
- Wasserman
- Polaris
Links
Featured
- Austin Weiland
- Brock Heger
- Cayden MacCachren
- Craig Scanlon
Credits
Travis Clarke
EVP, Action Sports & Olympics
Wasserman
Reid Wilson
VP/GM - Off Road Recreation
Polaris
Alex Scheuerell
Director, Racing
Polaris
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