Christopher Polvoorde has been busy in Hammertown even after winning the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge for a third year in a row. In the days since Sunday’s win, he’s gone on excursions like being part of a military vehicle parade on Monday and test driving the Ford Raptor T1+ once again.

His sponsor Optima Batteries organized “Military Monday” festivities to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States Armed Forces. Activities included a procession of military vehicles, a luncheon for veterans and active duty personnel at the Optima Oasis, and swearing in 30 Army recruits on the King of the Hammers’ main stage.

Polvoorde got to drive a Willys MB in the parade. The World War II-era vehicle was by far the oldest amid a line that featured an M113, an M-ATV, an HMMWV, and even a Polaris Ranger. The parade went down Barnes Road to the main stage at Hammertown for the induction ceremony. A C-47 Skytrain also flew over the parade.

On Tuesday, Polvoorde got back behind the wheel of the Raptor T1+. While he’s never done a rally raid before, he has been open about the Dakar Rally being a bucket list item. In October, Ford brought out the Raptor to the Red Bull Rampage where he got to drive it with guests riding along. While it’s certainly much different from his Trophy Truck, he was also positive on how the nimbler T1+ fared.

Co-developed by M-Sport, the Raptor enjoyed a strong run at January’s Dakar Rally with three of them in the top five. Nani Roma just missed out on the overall win as he was second ahead of Mattias Ekström (third) and Carlos Sainz (fifth).

Featured image credit: via Christopher Polvoorde