The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team are back in action this week after rewriting the record books at the Dakar Rally earlier in the year. Rally Andalucia is the first-ever race to have FOUR Junior Team crews entered and expectations are high that they can build on their impressive performance in Saudi Arabia.
This January saw the Junior Team claim Dakar records including the youngest ever stage winner and the first female stage winner since the rally left Africa. At last year’s inaugural Rally Andalucia the young team took a stage win and secured two spots in the Top 4 of the side-by-side category. Now the enlarged squad returns to chase more glory in southern Spain, May 12-16.
The four crews at the controls of the team’s custom built OT3 machine at this week’s Rally Andalucia are; Seth Quintero (USA) / Dennis Zenz (GER), Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) / Francois Cazalet (FRA), Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA) / Ola Floene (NOR) plus new additions Guillaume de Mevius (BEL) / Tom Colsoul (BEL).
26-year-old Guillaume de Mevius joins the team after strong results in the T3 category at last year’s Baja Portalegre as well as both Hail Bajas. The Belgian also has experience in the WRC and will be linking up with his countryman Tom Colsoul.
« Joining the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team is a massive opportunity for me. » – Guillaume de Mevius
Although De Mevius will be making his debut for the Junior Team this week he will feel right at home. The all Belgian crew will be racing the Belgian built OT3 by Overdrive as they look to secure success for their nation.
Before he was old enough to hold a driver’s licence Seth Quintero had already won pretty much all the off-road races there are to win in the United States. Still only 18 years old, Quintero holds the record of the Dakar’s youngest stage winner. Now the young American returns to Andalucia, where he made his rally-raid debut last year.
Alongside co-driver Dennis Zenz, Quintero briefly led the side-by-side category at the Dakar earlier this year. An overall win is due one day soon for the pair and that win could happen in Spain this week.
« The team scored a podium last time we were here and we’ll be pushing to get the win this time. » – Seth Quintero
29-year-old Cristina Gutiérrez produced one of the standout moments of the 2021 Dakar. On the opening day of the rally she became the first female stage winner since Jutta Kleinschmidt’s last stage win in 2005. It was another sign that the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team and their OT3 could hold their own against anyone.
« In Andalucia I want to carry on learning about our OT3 car and building understanding with the team. » – Cristina Gutiérrez
Gutiérrez now comes home to Spain to race Rally Andalucia after securing a podium at the inaugural Extreme E race last month alongside Sébastien Loeb. Frenchman Francois Cazalet will be reading the roadbook for Gutiérrez in Andalucia.
Mitch Guthrie Jr. has driven two editions of the Dakar as part of the Junior Team and now the 24-year-old is looking forward to competing in his first full FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. Just like his team-mate Quintero, Guthrie Jr. has a long and impressive list of wins at races in the States. Now the Californian is focused on adding international honours to his resume.
Co-driving for Guthrie Jr. in Spain will be Norway’s Ola Floene, the same combination that took third place overall in the side-by-side category of Rally Andalucia last year.
« This year the sky is the limit and the whole team is coming in swinging. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
The racing in Spain starts on Wednesday, May 12 with a short prologue stage. Then comes four long days covering 1,200 kilometres of challenging off-road routes around the Andalusian town of Villamartín. The chequered flag will fall on Sunday, May 16.
Rally Andalucia is round one of the seven round 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies. The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team are targeting overall World Cup glory as well as race wins over the course of the season.
Select Quotes
Guillaume de Mevius: « Joining the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team is a massive opportunity for me. Meeting up with everyone for the first time has been like a dream. There’s so much know-how and talent in this team, I can’t wait to start racing with these guys.
« I’m determined to show what I can do in this team. Of course I still have so much to learn about this discipline. I know I’m surrounded by great people so for sure I’ll get all the help I need to improve.
« I can’t wait to get Rally Andalucia started. I’ll have to pace myself because the rally is four days long. Maybe that’s not too long for a rally-raid if you compare it with the Dakar, but it’s a long race compared with what I’m used to. Learning how to deal with this is something I’m looking forward to accomplishing. »
Seth Quintero: « I’m really looking forward to racing here in Andalucia again. Last year we had a little bit of a problem on the first two stages and that took us out of contention for the win. Hopefully we’ll be able to stay in the mix on all four stages this time. The team scored a podium last time we were here and we’ll be pushing to get the win this time. As well as going for wins I’m really focused on finishing every race I enter this year.
« It’s actually a lot of fun to be switching between different disciplines of racing. Dakar was a really good start to this year, I picked up those couple of stage wins. Unfortunately we didn’t get the overall result we were after, but crossing the finish line was still a big achievement. Then we headed back to the States where we’ve raced the Parker 250 and Silver State 300. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « In Andalucia I want to carry on learning about our OT3 car and building understanding with the team. Since the Dakar I have not driven the car so I need to get back my rhythm. Hopefully I can do this quickly and be competitive at this rally.
« I really excited to race here because last year this race changed my life. After this race last year some Extreme E teams called me and that has opened so many doors. My Extreme E team-mate Sébastien Loeb helped me to become part of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team.
« The first Extreme E race was good. I was happy with the job that I did. Everything was new and finishing in third position was a good result for us. We had some bad luck in the final with a broken steering wheel, but overall it was a successful weekend. Seb has been sharing a lot of driving tips with me. Not only advice for driving but also on things like how to handle the media. Seeing the numbers he was able to do our car was impressive. In a few weeks we go to Senegal for the next Extreme E race. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « Last year in Andalucia we got a podium, this year the plan is to go for that win. Last year we knew we had what it took to win here and our car was awesome. Now there have been crazy improvements made to the car, it’s so much faster than it was last year! This year the sky is the limit and the whole team is coming in swinging.
« It’s been a great year so far. Since Dakar we’ve had a few races back at home so it’s been a mix of desert races and preparing for the rallies we’ve got coming up. I got the win at the Parker 250 which was great because we only had five days to build the car before the race. We started last out of about 50 cars so to end up with the win was special. »
Christine Fial,