Two off-road powerhouses have joined forces just in time for the 2023 Dakar Rally to expand the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team. A multi-year effort has been announced with Red Bull OffRoad and Can-Am factory racing joining forces. This Red Bull Can-Am partnership will facilitate provisions for the team to compete internationally in the most prestigious rally and off-road events across the globe. The collaboration will include the race-proven Can-Am X3s and an expanded lineup of world-class talented drivers. Much of that talent calls the United States home.

Dakar 2023 is the 45th edition and will feature a 15-day, 5,000-kilometer-long motorsports competition. Touring the massive barren deserts of Saudi Arabia, racers will depart from the Red Sea on December 31, 2022, to challenge mountains as well as the world’s largest unbroken sand sea before finishing in Dammam on January 15, 2023.

American off-road talents; Austin Jones, Mitch Guthrie Jr., and Seth Quintero testing for Rally Dakar 2023

World Champion Drivers

Back in 2020, Red Bull had an idea to build a program of up-and-coming off-road talent and turn them loose on the sport. Well, that dream came to life with the Red Bull OffRoad Junior Team. Over the last few years, this team of drivers has more than proven themselves both here in the U.S. and abroad on the world stage.

This year that team is expanding from four to six drivers, each with an incredible resume. Every one of the six drivers already has at least one championship title to their name and is looking to continue this year. So, who are these young guns of off-road? Let’s take a closer look.

Under the Red Bull Can-Am Partnership, South Racing built all new competition-ready Maverick X3 UTVs.

Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BF Goodrich: Team USA

The first half of the team are all USA-based drivers. Driving under the title Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BF Goodrich. All three will be starting the year in Dakar before heading back to various races stateside.

Seth Quintero Driving the T3 Can-Am Maverick X3

Seth Quintero, a California native exploded onto the scene back in 2014 with a UTV World Championship win. Since then, he has racked up wins across the sport including a 1st place overall Best In The Desert UTV Pro 2020 championship. He made history in 2021 by becoming the youngest Dakar Rally stage winner. In 2022, he cemented his name in the Dakar history books with a record-setting 12 stage wins.  Seth is a favorite to take a class win at this year’s 2023 rally.

An eager Quintero says, “I think there is a lot of [future] legends coming up right now and our generation of drivers – coming into the sport at the same time – is one of the fastest that rally has ever seen.” He has set himself an ambitious goal of becoming the youngest winner in the history of Dakar, something he’ll need to accomplish by age 26.

Mitch Guthrie Jr. Driving the T3 Can-Am Maverick X3

Mitch Guthrie Jr. started his off-road career early, holding the record for the youngest participant in the KOH UTV race. As a Baja 1000, Mint 400, and Best in the Desert champion, Mitch has already made a heavy impact on the sport. He is hoping to start off 2023 with a win in Dakar after missing last year’s race.

Austin Jones Driving The T3 Can-Am Maverick X3

Austin Jones is no slouch and is an accomplished off-road racer in his own right. The 2x Baja 1000 winner won the 2018 SCORE Trophy Truck Spec Championship and earned a 2019 SCORE rookie of the year award. After that, AJ then went globe-trotting to focus on rally. He claimed an impressive FIA World Cup Cross Country Rally Champion in 2021 and backed that up with a second in class finish at Dakar. He upped the ante with a huge Dakar T4 win in 2022. This year, Jones is moving up to the T3 class in his new Can-Am maverick x3.

Red Bull Can-Am Factory Team

 Three other world-class drivers will make up the second half of this global powerhouse offroad team for Red Bull and Can-Am. Cristina Gutierrez and Rokas Baciuška are both returning to Dakar looking to improve on their third in their class finishes last year.

The final member is Chilean rally star Francisco ‘Chaleco’ López. With three wins at Dakar under his belt he is the most experienced of the team. With experience, he will be serving as a mentor for the other drivers.

Austin Jones, Rokas Baciuska, Cristina Gutiérrez, and Seth Quintero posing for a photo for Rally Dakar 2023

Dakar is only the start of this dream team. After the rally keep a look out for the Red Bull Can-Am’s to storm major events across the globe. Some of the currently planned races are Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Ruta 40 Rally, Sonora Rally, and Rallye du Maroc, as well as in the US-based King of the Hammers, Mint 400, Baja 500, Vegas to Reno, and eight Red Bull Scramble events. 

Stay tuned to Offroad Xtreme for a guide on how to catch all the action from Dakar as well as results. you can also find more info at www.dakar.com

Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing Team Partnership

Photography sourced from Red Bull Content Pool.