“I've always been a guy for people to worry about”
En bref
S.Q.
- The face of the emerging generation of rally-raid talents, Seth Quintero is preparing for his sixth Dakar outing and his third in the Ultimate class - at just 23!
- The American began racing lightweight prototypes at the age of 10 and landed his first championship win at 11. He was soon signed up by Red Bull and made his Dakar debut in 2021, at 18, winning no fewer than six stages in the Challenger category.
- In 2022 he set a new all-time Dakar record by winning 12 stages in a single edition, although mechanical issues prevented him going for overall victory.
- In 2023 Seth secured his best Dakar result to date (2nd) and snatched victory in the Challenger class in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
- He stepped up to the Ultimate class just before Dakar 2024 but was once again struck by technical issues in the first week and finished 42nd. He and long-time co-driver Dennis Zenz improved to ninth place at Dakar 2025.
- With Zenz and Lucas Moraes leaving the team and linking up together at Dacia, Seth has a new co-driver for Dakar 2026: fellow American Andrew Short. They raced their first event together at Baja TT Sharish in September - finishing third - then did the last two rounds of the W2RC in Portugal and Morocco. Seth ended up fifth in the season-long standings and helped Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC land the manufacturer's title for a fourth straight year.
A.S.
- Andrew Short has spent most of his motorsport career on a bike. The 43-year-old American started riding at the age of five and turned pro at 17, going on to enjoy a glittering career in motocross and supercross. His CV includes podiums at national and world championships, plus the coveted Motocross of Nations title in 2010.
- After retiring from MX/SX at the end of 2016, Andrew switched his focus to rally-raid, lining up with the Husqvarna factory team at Dakar 2018. Despite limited preparation, he finished in 17th place, having battled through the last two days with a fractured ankle!
- 2019 was definitely his standout season, as he came sixth at the Dakar, second at the Silk Way Rally and first at the Rallye du Maroc.
- Andrew made five Dakar appearances on a bike, switching to the Yamaha factory team for the 2021 and 2022 editions. He had to abandon the former after ending up with eight litres of water in his fuel tank but completed the latter in a respectable eighth place.
- He reinvented himself as a co-driver at Dakar 2023, guiding Molly Taylor to 12th place in the SSVs. After missing the 2024 edition due to a broken back, he returned in 2025 alongside Hunter Miller, once again in the SSVs, and they finished just inside the top 10.
- Andrew only got his first taste of co-driving a T1+ in September, when he and Seth Quintero came third at the Baja TT Sharish in Portugal.
Ambition
S.Q.: "I'm definitely in a much better spot than in past years. A lot of it is the management behind the Toyota team right now. Having confidence in the team, the car and the infrastructure is a good feeling. Andrew has also been a huge help. I think he wants to win more than I do! It's nice to have that mentality in the car. This Dakar together is going to be super special. I kind of got thrown to the wolves at my first Dakar in the Ultimates, it was a little rough. We'd done maybe 300 kilometres in the T1+ before we went racing. And what made it even worse was the fact that we got second in the prologue, which doubled down on the expectancy for us to win. Last year was different, I felt super, super prepared. We won two stages and led the rally, we were consistently in the top five. But we also had some bad days, especially the marathon. We also had a hydraulic issue on Stage 11 and lost another hour. Without those problems we could have been in the running for a podium, and we still ended up inside the top 10.
I think the speed is there, everything is there, we just need a bit of luck on our side. It's weird, I got my worst results in the last two rounds of the championship this year, but they felt like my best performances. I have this sense of confidence I've never had before. It's about backing up and believing that I can win, that I will win if I execute my job correctly. And I'm still only 23. I have to step back and not get too down on myself, understand that I'm still brand new. The expectancy came so quick. I was thrown into having to go out and win. I haven't even had a two-year term in T1+ and I've already got a handful of podiums and stage wins. I've always been a guy for people to worry about. I'm just looking to gain experience and knowledge and keep developing."
I think the speed is there, everything is there, we just need a bit of luck on our side. It's weird, I got my worst results in the last two rounds of the championship this year, but they felt like my best performances. I have this sense of confidence I've never had before. It's about backing up and believing that I can win, that I will win if I execute my job correctly. And I'm still only 23. I have to step back and not get too down on myself, understand that I'm still brand new. The expectancy came so quick. I was thrown into having to go out and win. I haven't even had a two-year term in T1+ and I've already got a handful of podiums and stage wins. I've always been a guy for people to worry about. I'm just looking to gain experience and knowledge and keep developing."
A.S.: "I feel like I did well in a lot of smaller rallies on the bike, but never in Dakar. I always had something happen and it didn't go my way. That was some of the motivation to move to the car side to try to have some success there. Do I have regrets? Sure. I didn't start rally until I was quite a bit older, but I still had some cool times. Seth and I have gelled pretty naturally. We're both Americans with similar backgrounds, so it all kind of fits well. We went to Portugal to try it out and I clicked well with him and the team. It's a cool partnership and hopefully it will get better. It's not something everyone can do, and the bike stuff helps with the transition. When things get twisted and confusing, it's good to have someone to talk it through with. I'm excited. I know it will be a steep learning curve for me, especially from a mechanical standpoint. I'm looking forward to the opportunity, especially if I can continue to improve. Seth is young and fast and there's a lot of opportunity there. He already has a lot of experience."
