Litchfield Park off-road racer Austin “AJ” Jones and his co-driver, Gustavo Gugelmin of Brazil, brought home two second-place trophies in the Dakar 2021 Rally in Saudi Arabia.
“Vice champions in their first Dakar together and only AJ’s second run at the rally — this duo is set for great things,” Monster Energy Can-Am posted on its Facebook page Friday, Jan. 15 after team #408 finished the grueling, 5,000-mile race billed as the toughest in the world with a time of 53 hours, 58 minutes and 25 seconds.
That put Mr. Jones and Mr. Gugelmin just 17 minutes, 23 seconds behind the lightweight vehicle/SSV leaders, Francisco Lopez Contardo and Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre, and six places ahead of Mr. Jones’ eighth-place 2020 Dakar finish.
