“I'm confident I can do well”
CREW FACTS
MG
- Mitch Guthrie Jr is gearing up for his fifth Dakar in 2025, and his first in the Ultimate top category.
- The 28-year-old American suffered final-day heartbreak at Dakar 2024. Leading the Challengers by 25 minutes, he saw the title slip through his grasp due to mechanical issues and finished second behind eventual winner Cristina Gutierrez.
- Motorsport is in the blood for Mitch, whose father Mitch Guthrie Senior is a legendary UTV racer with six wins at the King of the Hammers.
- Mitch Jr began competing at age 11 in the CORR Series, working his way up through the American offroad scene at the Lucas Oil Off Road Series, the WORCS Series and the Best In The Desert series.
- In 2018 and 2019 he also won King of the Hammers, becoming the first back-to-back champion since his father. He also conquered the Best In The Desert Pro class championship in 2019, which earned him a spot on the Red Bull Off-Road Junior team for Dakar 2020.
- Mitch served notice of his potential with three stage wins on his Dakar debut with Ola Floene, although two of them came in the Dakar Experience category after they suffered engine failure on Stage 7.
- Since Dakar 2023, Mitch has been competing alongside highly experienced American co-driver Kellon Walch. They struggled with mechanical issues in their first Dakar together, despite five stage wins.
- His best result at the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) was second overall in 2023, when Quintero pipped him to the Challengers title by just five points. Despite leading the W2RC after Dakar 2024, Mitch limited his competitive outings during the season to focus on testing with the new Ford. He came fifth in the Challengers at the Rallye du Maroc.
- Mitch also runs a shop close to where he grew up for the Polaris he races at home.
KW
- Kellon Walch was raised in Alamo, Nevada, with "literally hundreds of miles of desert" on his doorstep.
- His parents knew nothing about racing - his father was a fireman and a high school football coach - but Kellon soon began riding a bike, originally to round up the cattle they kept in the desert.
- After winning a host of local races and championships on the west coast, he was scouted during a KTM rider search and selected for Dakar 2005. Among his teammates were Chris Blais and Scot Harden.
- In his first and only Dakar on a bike (he was later plagued by injuries), Kellon finished 22nd overall and made headlines by winning the final stage on the shores of the iconic Lac Rose. At the time he was only the fourth American to win a Dakar stage on two wheels after Chuck Stearns, Danny Laporte and Jimmy Lewis.
- Dakar 2005 also saw a first of 10 stage wins for Robby Gordon, with whom Kellon linked up as a co-driver in the cars in 2011. Their best result together was 14th overall in 2013.
- Since the Dakar came to Saudi Arabia, Kellon has also worked with young talents Austin Jones (2020), Guillaume de Mevius (2022) and Mitch Guthrie (since 2023).
- Back home, Kellon works as a firefighter in Las Vegas.
AMBITIONS 2025
M.G.: “I'm just really excited. Everything has been great so far and we have an amazing team behind us. We've done a ton of testing and the car feels great. This will be my first competitive outing in the Ultimate class so we're straight into it! The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team programme was a success, for sure. It really has been the perfect way to prepare us for the T1s. Some of the Challenger vehicles are like miniature versions of Ultimate vehicles. A lot of people just want you to grind and do your best, but I want to win! I'm confident I can do well. I know the competition is crazy, but I saw when I raced with Mattias in the T3s I was able to battle with him. The margins will be even finer; every tenth of a second counts if you're going for a stage win in T1+. It's super special having legends like Carlos and Nani in the team. They have so much knowledge and experience, it's been great to learn from them. They're an open book. I've been racing for a long time and I've been through heartbreak before, but last year's Dakar was the worst one for sure. Losing it on the last day when we had the lead... I was in shock that day. But I'm definitely looking ahead now instead of looking back. Everyone knows Kellon, especially in the US, he's been in rally-raid for a long time. This is our third Dakar together. He's competed in the cars before so that's good for me, and he brings useful knowledge to the team. Navigation-wise he's great, he really knows what he's doing.”
K.W.: “Mitch is on a very even keel. He's not super hotheaded, just really chill and calm, which isn't a very American trait! He's more methodical and thinks about things. It's nice for me as a navigator because I don't have him hollering down my throat, shouting, 'Let's go!' or 'Don't get lost!' We're able to work well, to sit and think about things, to stay calm. I'm done with the golf carts! (laughs). Being in the Ultimates is nice for me to be back in the big class with the big guys, fighting for the overall win. Above all, I'm stoked for the opportunity he has. I think he's going to do great. The team doesn't have too many goals set for us at Dakar 2025. Just do the best we can and be part of the team. I think the biggest thing is to finish, for our first Dakar in the big car. It's a huge opportunity for two Americans to be with people like Carlos, Nani (a bike guy like me!) and Mattias. Just being in meetings with them and their engineers is fascinating. The way they work in terms of strategy and testing is very different to what we do in the States. I just hope we can do everyone on the team proud. I think we have a good chance of getting top five, but we'll see how it goes. We'll have to decide how to play things after this first year, see if we want to push harder. It's good for Mitch that he doesn't have the added pressure of getting this result or that result. He can just focus on driving."
