– Seth Quintero (USA) has written yet another chapter of Dakar Rally history. The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team driver has now matched the record number of stage wins on a single Dakar, 10!
– Quintero sealed the sensational feat by setting the fastest T3 time on Stage 10. Most remarkably of all, the 19-year-old still has two stages left at this Dakar to make the record his own.
– « We haven’t broken the record yet, we’ve just tied the record for most wins in a single Dakar. It’s nuts! I’m mind-blown. I’m going to have a heart attack. » – Seth Quintero
– The record of 10 stage wins at a single Dakar had stood since 1994 when Pierre Lartigue (FRA) dominated the car race in a Citroën ZX. Now Quintero and his co-driver Dennis Zenz (GER) have matched those 10 stage wins in Saudi Arabia at the controls of their OT3 by Overdrive.
– When Lartigue set the record the Dakar ran for 17 stages, giving the Frenchman a stage win ratio of 58%. Quintero’s stage win percentage currently stands at 90%. At last year’s Dakar, while still only 18 years old, Quintero also made history as the rally’s youngest ever stage winner.
– « I’ve got two more stages to go, so we’ll try to go on ticking them off. To tie a record that was set 18 years before I was born is absolutely amazing. I really want to try and make everyone back home proud. » – Seth Quintero
– The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team can also pull off another historic achievement at this rally, the only team in the event’s storied past to win every single stage in their class. The only time so far that Quintero didn’t claim victory on a T3 stage at this rally, his team-mates Guillaume de Mevius (BEL) and Kellon Walch (USA) took the win.
– Pushing Quintero hardest on Stage 10 was another team-mate, Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP). The winning driver in the T3 category of the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies is chasing an overall podium finish at this Dakar. Gutiérrez and co-driver François Calazet (FRA) were second on Stage 10 and sit fourth overall.
– « On the rest of the stages we want to go out and give everything and try to climb until we give a podium to the OT3. We have two stages to go and we are separated by an hour and 15 minutes from the podium. I hope we can get it. » – Cristina Gutiérrez
– The exciting performances of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team at this Dakar highlight the program’s ethos of giving young talented drivers the chance to test themselves at the toughest rallies around the globe. It certainly looks like this crop of ambitious off-roaders have got what it takes to tame the world’s wildest terrain.
– The 2022 Dakar Rally will finish in Jeddah on January 14 after competitors have completed over 4,000km of off-road racing spread over 12 stages.
Lightweight Prototype (T3) Stage 10 rankings
1. S. Quintero (USA)/D. Zenz (GER) – OT3, 3:22:11
2. C. Gutierrez (ESP)/F. Cazalet (FRA) – OT3, +2:22
3. S. Eriksson (SWE)/W. Rosegaar (NLD) – CAN-AM, +9:45…