Eighth on his first attempt in 2020, and second in 2021 after leading the race four days before the finish, Austin Jones continues to rise. The talented 25 year old American spent his childhood learning the ins and outs of racing from his father, Jesse, who has been competing in desert events for the past 20 years and runs the Jones Motorsport team. In 2018 Austin got behind the wheel himself after spending a year as his dad's co-driver. In his first full season, Austin teamed up with Bryce Swaim and took the SCORE International Championship by storm, claiming victories at the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 in the Trophy Truck Spec class. He took his first steps in rally raid towards the end of 2018 and quickly made his mark. Having just secured the FIM T4 World Cup, Austin now shifts his focus on winning one of toughest races in the world.

"To win the Dakar or a championship you need to combine similar ingredients: a good car, a good navigator, a good team and lots of consistency. Once again there’s going to be some tough competition in our class from the likes of ‘Chaleco’ Lopez and my teammate Aron Domzala so a bit of that other essential ingredient ‘luck’ wouldn’t go amiss either!”