The paddocks of the FIA European Baja Cup might seem a world away from the grassroots off-road racing scene in Britain, but for Polaris RZR racer Sean Haran, it’s the culmination of a lifelong passion. 

We caught up with Sean between stages of the demanding Baja España Aragón rally, where his team, Haran Plant Racing, are racing a machine that’s both a testament to Polaris engineering and a reflection of their racing DNA: a custom-built Polaris RZR Pro R – the only British-built car in the FIA Baja Championship.

From his early days in motocross to winning the British Side-by-Side (SXS) Championship, he has now progressed to the international stage. Here are some of the best bits from our interview.

To start, we asked Sean about his racing background and journey into off-road racing with Polaris.

“My background was motocross. Then, when I reached sort of 27, 28, injuries and work commitments stopped the motocross.

And then in 2013, I met a guy called Martin Fletcher, who introduced me to the RZR 900. It was the only thing that I’ve ever tried that was close to motocross on four wheels. I’d retired from racing completely until I met Martin, who initially set up the British SXS Championship with the Polaris RZR, and it gave me a second sort of chance of doing something I love.”

From winning the British championship to the European circuit, what prompted that step up?

“So last year we were the first people to take the RZR Pro R to the British SXS Championship in the Open Pro class, which we won. What got us to the European scene was, again, down to some friends of ours who we made along the way in the British SXS scene who had done some Bajas previously with a French team, Polaris Xtreme+ So in 2023, we did our first rally with Xtreme+, and then we just came up with a concept of building our own race car tailored to how we want it.”

You mentioned the modifications to the RZR Pro; what does it take to create a machine for this level of competition?

“The big difference with the vehicle over here for the Baja is that everything’s FIA homologated. The chassis have to be completely custom-made to certain specifications so they meet the FIA standards, same with the fuel cell. You have to maintain all the original Polaris features, such as the engine, the diffs, the drive, the prop shaft, and even the positions of the mounts for the shocks, and it all has to be as standard, but with increased safety features. All in all, the project has probably been ongoing for 18 months so far.

It was my co-driver, a good friend of ours, Martin Hales; it was his idea more than mine. He said, ‘Well, why don’t we just build our own?’. It was Martin who sort of pushed me into the thought of ‘well, if we want to win, you know, let’s have a go at building our own car and see what we can do’. 

We met a guy in Italy, Nikolai, whose company is Sky Works, and he designed the chassis specifically for us. We went and got it passed by the FIA in scrutineering, which was a big weight off our shoulders, but to go out and then win the group with a brand new car – that was even bigger.”

What about the community spirit in the paddock and Polaris Youth racing?

“The competition is always a number one for us, but a bigger part of that is something we learned when we were younger; we went away every weekend as a family to race and compete. And this is exactly what I did with my family. I have two daughters, and they both race in the British SXS Championship. Our youngest girl is eight, and she’s currently leading the RZR 200 class, and our eldest is 10 and she’s in the Youth 570 class.

The whole paddock is like that; there are families from all over the country, and they go there to compete. It’s fierce on the track, but on an evening, everyone’s friends, barbecuing, kids just playing, having the best time, being free, and then they get to race on top of it.”

Finally, we asked about the key people that Sean would like us to credit in this piece, and the team’s plans for the future.

“We’ve just formed a company (Haran Plant Racing), which is growing legs, and we have another two cars in build now. My brother Kevin, who also races in the British SXS Championship, is a brilliant driver, and he’s got a car very similar in build now. So next year we’re looking at racing two of these abroad. We’ve set up Haran Plant Racing with an Instagram page (@haran_plant_racing), so anyone’s welcome to give us a follow and see how we get on.

From a personal point of view, family is always key. My partner, Kirsty she’s just 100% behind me and the kids. 

But on a professional level, my co-driver, Martin Hales, and Tom Fletcher have been a real big part of getting it off the ground in Britain. And then really the other two main people involved are Skyworks, and we have a really good suspension man, R53 suspension, who’s based in the UK.

And to be honest, if we were going to start from the very beginning, Martin Fletcher, who introduced us to Polaris back in 2013, I never imagined we’d be sitting now at an international-level competition, parked up with factory teams from all around Europe, all from buying an RZR 900 over 12 years ago. We’ve come a long way.”

The Haran family story is a great example of what’s possible with Polaris off-road racing. The RZR platform has proven itself once again as the ultimate foundation for a championship-winning machine, capable of being adapted to conquer the most demanding regulations and terrain in the world. Sean and his team also recently took multiple stage wins at the most recent round of the rally – the 22nd Hungarian Baja, the sixth round of the 2025 FIA European Baja Cup. He holds a 1-point lead in the SSV category standings.

From the entire team at Polaris Britain, we wish Sean, his family, and the whole Haran Plant Racing team the very best of luck for the rest of the season as they continue to fly the Polaris flag on the world stage. You can keep up with their journey on social media @haran_plant_racing.