Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team will look to score a second consecutive win in the Dakar Rally’s Challenger class with a new lineup of Corbin Leaverton and Gonçalo Guerreiro, both of whom will race the Taurus T3 Max.

The duo joined the team in late November. As its name suggests, the Off-Road Junior Team serves as a driver development program for Red Bull-affiliated rally raiders, with graduates like Cristina Gutiérrez and Mitch Guthrie now competing in the premier Ultimate class after finishing 1–2 in Challenger in 2024. Their success in that race, which respectively earned them rides with Dacia and Ford, meant their Taurus seats were immediately opened up for Leaverton and Guerreiro to fill.

Leaverton won the 2024 Red Bull Scramble Series championship in the SXS Pro Class, winning two of three rounds at the Sand and Beach Scrambles. The year before, he was Best In The Desert’s Trophy Unlimited champion.

“I’m proud of my performances in this year’s Red Bull Scramble Series because those races take in all different types of terrain, conditions and rivals,” said Leaverton, a real estate agent by trade. “I enjoy being able to show up anywhere and be competitive rather than being a one-trick pony.

“It’s a big leap from Southern California to the Dakar: different cars, different styles of racing, different cultures, and it’s been awesome to see Seth (Quintero) and Mitch adapt so well. I want to follow in their footsteps and reach the Ultimate class. But for now I’m here to listen and learn on the road to making myself a competitive rally-raid racer.”

While Leaverton has proven himself in the deserts of North America, Guerreiro is a star in the forests of Portugal. The 2022 Campeonato Portugal de Todo-o-terreno champion in SSV, he finished fifth in the 2024 CPTT outright and class standings. Despite contending for the title, Guerreiro elected to surrender it for this year and compete in the Baja Morocco, marking his first time competing in a desert rally to prepare for Dakar. He was runner-up in the event.

Although his first Dakar, it will not be his first time competing in a W2RC event. In April, Guerreiro entered the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid and won the Prologue in SSV but bowed out three legs later with a mechanical failure. He has also enjoyed success in the FIA World Baja Cup by winning SSV at the Baja Aragón.

“I started driving fast cars at 17 years old, it’s a passion I share with my dad,” Guerreiro began. “Now it’s been six years driving fast cars and I’m proud of my journey so far. I was Portuguese champion in 2022 and after that I moved to FIA races.

“This year, I raced the Baja Morocco and I finished second overall. After the race, we stayed in Morocco to do some more testing with the Taurus T3 Max with our focus switching to the Dakar. I think there are two reasons why we all love the Dakar, because it’s a challenge and an adventure.”

Credit: Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool