Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team teammates AJ Jones and Seth Quintero took second and third place finishes in the T3 class in today’s Stage 6 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, and they remain in those same positions overall at this point of the event as a result. While each lost a little bit of time to overall Lightweight Prototype leader Guillaume De Mevius, who won the stage, Jones is still within nine minutes of first place, and Quintero is a comfortable third, just under an hour behind Jones but well clear of defending winner Chaleco Lopez in fourth.

Just a few short years ago, American motorcycle racer Skyler Howes was one of the Dakar Rally’s most beloved privateers, selling off possessions and raising funds for an opportunity to compete in the world’s biggest rally raid. Two years ago, he landed his first factory contract with Husqvarna, and now, after five stages of the 2023 edition of the event, he finds himself in the overall lead by more than two minutes over the legendary Toby Price.

I had been looking forward to catching up somewhere down the line this year. After all, it seemed like there’d be plenty of opportunities. Instead, I’m reckoning, as with the rest of our world, with the fact that Ken Block is gone.

American racers have established themselves as forces to be reckoned with in two classes of racing in the Dakar Rally in recent years: motorcycles, where Ricky Brabec took the overall victory in 2020, and UTVs, where Casey Currie won in the same year. Today, it was a pair of different names at the top of the stage charts, hinting that 2023 could be more of the same.

2020 Dakar Rally winner Ricky Brabec put in a solid opening day of action, and benefitted from a handful of speeding penalties to some of his top competitors, to claim the motorcycle class win in Stage 1 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, avenging two years of early-race troubles to lead a throng of American riders in the top 10. Americans had a similarly successful day in the T3 Lightweight Prototype class, with three racers—led by Seth Quintero, winner of 12 stages last year—in the top six.

For anyone looking for a motorcycle that is great for single track, trails, technical riding, and open desert riding, and can still hold its own for the occasional track day, you can’t go wrong with the Kawasaki KX 250X.

Each year, the global motorsport calendar kicks off with one of the toughest racing events in the world, as the Dakar Rally puts many of the world’s top off-road racers to the test over two weeks of competition through the Saudi Arabian desert. The event kicked off earlier today with a return to seaside action, as today’s Prologue stage from Sea Camp near Yanbu gave racers a 13-kilometer shakedown in preparation for one of the most grueling challenges in motorsport.

Ever wanted to do battle with the Jim Beaver eSports squad? There’s never been a better time to jump into iRacing—especially now that Wild West Motorsports Park is a part of the included content package that comes with every iRacing membership!

He might not be leading the Nitro Rallycross Group E standings, but Vermont SportsCar’s Travis Pastrana added a new title to go with his status as the series founder and inaugural Supercar champion over the weekend: its first repeat race winner. Pastrana took top honors in the first leg of the doubleheader at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on Friday night, while points leader Robin Larsson of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/JC Raceteknik returned to the top step himself in the Sunday round.

It’s been a little while since the premier class of rallycross has seen a doubleheader round in the United States, but Nitro Rallycross is bringing it back for the first time in more than three years with this weekend’s visit to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Arizona. With a full event scheduled in for Friday and the typical two-day race format set for Saturday and Sunday, it’ll mark the first time that NRX’s electric Group E class has faced two events over a single weekend.

The first repeat winner in the history of Nitro Rallycross’ Group E class will have to wait at least two more weeks after Sunday’s final at Glen Helen Raceway, as Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver Fraser McConnell led the second podium sweep for his team of the season with a checkered flag in the six-lap feature. McConnell, points leader Robin Larsson, and Andreas Bakkerud were split by under two seconds as they repeated their feat from Strangnas Motorstadion earlier this summer, albeit with a different winner atop the box.

Earlier this month, Rob MacCachren’s familiar black-and-white machine rolled up on both the inaugural California 300 and Best in the Desert’s season-ending Laughlin Desert Classic and took two Unlimited Truck class wins in two weeks. But while the name on the roof rail and the number looked familiar, the face behind the wheel was a new one: Cayden MacCachren, the son of the legend himself.

Nitro Rallycross takes on the second American round of its 2022-23 season, and fourth overall, this weekend with its return to the Los Angeles area and the legendary Glen Helen Raceway. As always, Nitro Rallycross Los Angeles will see many of the sport’s biggest names go wheel-to-wheel over two full days of action, with battle bracket qualifying for the headline Group E electric cars on Saturday, racing on Sunday, and two full rounds for both the NRX Next and SXS classes across the two days. As always, Peacock will carry the action live all weekend long.

Don’t miss Jim Beaver eSports drivers Michael Guest and Blake Reynolds in action in tonight’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series action from Phoenix Raceway! Countdown to Green kicks off the coverage at 8PM ET before the green flag drops at 9.

Don’t miss Jim Beaver eSports drivers Michael Guest and Blake Reynolds in action in their Travis Pastrana throwback paint schemes in tonight’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series action from Homestead-Miami Speedway! Countdown to Green kicks off the coverage at 8:30PM ET before the green flag drops at 9.

Steve Torrence, Robert Hight, Erica Enders, and Matt Smith found themselves victorious in NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series action from World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on Sunday, taking home Wallys in their respective classes in the NHRA Midwest Nationals. The third of six rounds in the Countdown to the Championship saw Hight and Enders become the first drivers to score two wins within the playoffs, while the Top Fuel points chase is now anyone’s race with five drivers within 43 points of one another.

Travis Pastrana would qualify third in Group E, win his heat, and shortly after taking the SXS race win, he’d make it two wins in two classes on the day in Nitro Rallycross action from ERX Motor Park.

After an extended hiatus due to the cancellation of its planned Finnish round at the Kymiring, Nitro Rallycross makes its long-awaited return to action on American soil this weekend at ERX Motor Park in Minnesota. Also known as an off-road truck and snowmobile racetrack, ERX debuted as a rallycross course for the inaugural NRX season last year to rave reviews, as drivers and fans alike loved the huge jumps and all-dirt layout.

Don’t miss Jim Beaver eSports drivers Jakob Rafoss and Christian Rafoss Lindo in action in the latest Norgesmesterskap i Rallycross event as they go for the Norwegian national championship!

Catch up on the latest news around the ARCA Menards Series every Wednesday with the General Tire Stock Car Weekly!