With no flashy public presentation, Polaris was more low-key than its competitors about the minor changes to its 2012 600 IQ Race Sled, mostly focused on suspension changes fine-tuned in the second half of last year’s race season.
Matching a popular option on many of the company’s consumer sleds, the Race Sled will also be skinned with a white hood and retro graphics that recall its design themes from the 1970s and early 1980s.
The Race Sled’s press release focused on the transfer of features like the Liberty 600 engine and Independent Front Suspension from the racing to consumer sides of the company.
Polaris Snowmobile Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr., said the race sled’s suspension setup was fine-tuned throughout last season and delivered outstanding performance, so racers will take delivery of 2012 race sleds that are ready to hit the track — i.e. using the suspension setup discovered mid-season last winter.
“We have Ben Hayes, who previously worked with Fox Racing Shox and Walker Evans Racing, as our in-house suspension specialist, and he worked really hard on setups last season,” Rager said. “Working closely with our racers, he came up with an incredible setup that two teams used in last season’s final four or five races.
“We continued testing and development with our racers after the season and made further calibration changes so the front and rear suspensions are better than ever, and we’re going to continue to move forward.”
The current setup features revised shock valving and stiffer rear torsion springs than racers started with on the 2011 Race Sled.
Originally, the 2012 Polaris 600 IQ Race Sled was developed as a snocross sled, but extensive additional testing was done to fine-tune its chassis setup for cross-country racing. Cross-country racers who want to campaign this sled will receive information about how to adjust their shock valving and springs to achieve “premium terrain performance.”