The third episode of Polaris’ Tough Doesn’t Quit: Defending Dakar was released on Friday, coinciding with the Prologue for the Dakar Rally.

After the first two parts respectively covered the initial preparations for the 2025 Dakar and the Polaris RZR Pro R Factory, the third episode follows drivers Brock Heger and defending SSV champion Xavier de Soultrait. Their navigators Max Eddy Jr. and Martin Bonnet are also highlighted.

“One of the goals of this program is to bring appreciation to the American off-road fanbase,” begins team director Alex Scheuerell in the video, “and what beter way to do that than bring an American driver and a navigator?”

Eddy is no stranger to Dakar, having been the navigator for Cole Potts in 2019; before being a driver and co-driver in desert racing, he won the Baja 1000 five times on a bike. Heger is a newcomer but arrives with an exemplary portfolio that includes titles in short course and the 2023 and 2024 SCORE Pro UTV Open championships.

Soultrait, a former Dakar bike racer, won the 2024 Dakar in just his second start in a Polaris. Bonnet also hailed from a motorcycle background, debuting at Dakar on one in 2022 before making the switch.

Fittingly, Heger went on to win the Prologue in SSV after beating the Can-Am Maverick R of Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli by 19 seconds. Soultrait was third in class, while their other Sébastien Loeb Racing teammate Florent Vayssade finished tenth.

The series has released new videos each Friday.

Defending Dakar Episode 3 on YouTube

Featured image credit: Polaris Off-Road Vehicles