“It’s building a ton of hype for the Dakar!”

Part of the Red Bull Off-Road team USA, Mitchell Guthrie Junior will be discovering the Dakar. One of the most promising off-road drivers of his generation, he learned from one of the best in the US, his very own father, also known as the “King” of the King of the Hammers race. Young Mitch went on to surpass his dad winning back to back titles in the UTV class at the KOH, as well as capturing the 2016 UTV World Championship, the 2017 Baja 1000 and the 2017 Mint 400, all that before even reaching the age of 22. Guthrie now focuses on the international scene and the toughest of all rallies, the Dakar. For his debut, the American will have another impressive newcomer, WRC specialist, Ola Floene. The Norwegian has two decades of WRC seasons behind him, competing with the likes of Andreas Mikkelsen and Mads Ostberg in prestigious teams such as Volkswagen Motorsport and M-Sport.

M.G.: “The Red Bull Off-road Junior team is basically bringing a bunch of kids into the international side of racing which is something that we’ve never really done. Giving us the best crew, car and team behind us to do well while also racing in the United-States on events we know pretty well. Over the past two months the amount of time we’ve put in to prepare has been huge. In the US, most people don’t really know about the Dakar and already I’ve seen so many people that are getting ready to watch this year because they’ve seen the press release. It’s going to build a ton of hype for the Dakar. This program is going to build so much for what the future of international racing is in the United States. It’s going to raise a lot of awareness.”