The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich are in optimistic mood at the Rest Day bivouac of the 2023 Dakar Rally. With two drivers on the overall podium and five stage wins in eight days, the squad are positive about their chances of scoring more success during the Dakar’s second week.
Things are going to plan for AJ Jones and co-driver Gustavo Gugelmin. The duo have performed consistently over the opening eight stages to put their Can-Am Maverick just 3m 19s behind the T3 race leader.
« We’re exactly where we wanted to be at Rest Day. We wanted to be within five minutes of the leader and now we’re just three minutes off P1. » – AJ Jones
26-year-old Jones won last year’s T4 race at the Dakar alongside Gugelmin. The pair now back themselves to hit the front of the T3 contest as the rally takes the convoy into the perilous dunes of the Empty Quarter.
« We’ve got a good idea of what it takes to win this race. The biggest thing by far is to be consistent on every stage. » – AJ Jones
Joining Jones on the overall T3 podium are team-mates Seth Quintero and co-driver Dennis Zenz. 20-year-old Quintero led the Dakar after three stages before trouble struck on day four. The American driver shook off the disappointment to get back in the race the very next day.
« Disaster struck on day four; we ran out of fuel, lost a wheel and power steering. A whole bunch of things happened. But I woke up the next day and read all the messages of support, that fired me right back up. » – Seth Quintero
Quintero is currently in third place overall and 1h 2m 25s off the lead. The Can-Am Maverick driver has a huge task in front of him, but if he can replicate last year’s Dakar where he won every single stage of the second week we could be about to witness something truly historic.
« I personally believe I’m pretty mentally strong and I want to get out there and make the people who believe in me proud. » – Seth Quintero
The third Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich crew of Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Kellon Walch have had one of the Dakar’s wildest weeks. Race leaders on day four, three stage wins and one particularly tough day on the course have delivered an absolute whirlwind of emotions.
« It’s been a rollercoaster with plenty of ups and downs. We went into Stage Five as the overall leader of the rally in the T3 class. Unfortunately on Stage Five we suffered an issue that took us out of the overall. Since then the focus has switched to having clean days and making sure we show the potential of this new car. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
26-year-old Guthrie Jr. is now determined to further showcase his T3-M by MCE5 machine in the second week of the Dakar. The development vehicle is key to the team’s ambition of bringing a hybrid T3 to the 2024 Dakar to race in the T3-U (Ultimate) category.
« One of the coolest parts about racing is working with engineers. We’ve got a lot of smart people working on this development project. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
With plenty of positive results to celebrate during the first week of the 2023 Dakar Rally, there’s now a hunger within the team to push for more. As the rally reaches the dunes of the Empty Quarter there’s more stage wins up for grabs and lot of challenges to overcome. Overall T3 victory is also tantalizingly within reach for the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich.
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Results
Selected T3 Overall after Eight Stages at 2023 Dakar Rally
1. Guillaume De Mevius (BEL)/François Cazalet (FRA) OT3 36:03:09
2. AJ Jones (USA)/Gustavo Gugelmin (BRA) CAN-AM +03:19
3. Seth Quintero (USA)/Dennis Zenz (GER) CAN-AM +01:02:25…
26. Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA)/Kellon Walch (USA) MCE5 +24:35:03…
Select Quotes
AJ Jones: « We’re exactly where we wanted to be at Rest Day. We wanted to be within five minutes of the leader and now we’re just three minutes off P1. Me and Gustavo made a good plan, we’ve also trained a lot and done a lot of preparation for this. So far everything’s working out pretty good, but there’s still a long way to go. We’ve got six more desert stages to come.
« We’re going to make a few adjustments here and there. We’ve got a good idea of what it takes to win this race. I’ve not been racing the Dakar for too long, this is my fourth Dakar so I don’t have a crazy amount of experience. What I have done though is learn from good people that know how to race these types of races. The biggest thing by far is to be consistent on every stage. »
Seth Quintero: « This first week has been quite the adventure. We had an amazing run at the start and led the T3 class. Then unfortunately disaster struck on day four; we ran out of fuel, lost a wheel and power steering. A whole bunch of things happened. But I woke up the next day and read all the messages of support, that fired me right back up.
« I personally believe I’m pretty mentally strong and I want to get out there and make people proud. That’s what we did the day after we had those problems and we won the stage. Now we’re up to third in the overall and there’s a lot of racing still to come. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « We came here expecting to do well and we had a plan to go for the overall just like everyone else. It’s been a rollercoaster with plenty of ups and downs. We went into Stage Five as the overall leader of the rally in the T3 class. Unfortunately on Stage Five we suffered an issue that took us out of the overall. Since then the focus has switched to having clean days and making sure we show the potential of this new car.
« One of the coolest parts about racing is working with engineers. We’ve got a lot of smart people working on this development project. We’re always trying to improve the car and get the best performance out of it. The idea is to go as fast as we possibly can and to keep improving. »