Rebelle Rally 2022: Eight Automakers Put Production Off-Roading Darlings Through Grueling 1,600 Mile Test

As the first official day of the Rebelle Rally will get underway within the Lake Tahoe space—the 110 ladies of the seventh annual occasion spend their day going by way of a rigorous tech inspection, then head to the primary base camp positioned close to a ghost city with a inhabitants of solely eight folks, the identical variety of producers preserving their eyes on the groups they’ve taking part.

It’s frequent for main automakers, or OEMs, to assemble groups to compete within the Rally. This 12 months, there are eight automaker-backed groups collaborating within the 1,600-mile navigational rally that stretches over a interval of 10 days and covers sandy, distant elements of California and Nevada.

Emily Miller, who based the Rebelle Rally in 2015, says that together with manufacturer-backed groups within the competitors has all the time been a part of the Rebelle’s mission as a result of it affords these OEMs a possibility to showcase and check the capabilities of their inventory autos.

“You have all these manufacturer vehicles, and OEMs have spent so much money to design them, develop them and then test them,” says Miller. “These vehicles are a piece of this functional, incredible art, and it’s where we spend a lot of our life. Now at year seven, [we] see the manufacturers recognizing the value of the Rebelle — not because it’s a women’s car rally and it checks a box, but because they believe in this platform for their vehicles.”

And there are many advantages for OEMs operating the rally. In earlier years of the Rebelle, producers have run preproduction fashions, just like the Rivian R1T, for instance, earlier than these grew to become accessible to customers. The OEMs then take what they study on the occasion and tweak settings or a given setup so as to make their autos extra resilient to the punishing programs the Rebelles run.

Last 12 months, after Emme Hall and Rebecca Donaghe struggled within the dunes due to the settings of their manufacturing mannequin R1T (they had been in a pre-production R1T in 2020), Rivian made adjustments and added a Sand Mode to each the R1T and R1S.

This 12 months Kia, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, Jeep, Toyota and Rivian are taking part with their very own manufacturer-backed groups. Last 12 months’s OEMs included Volkswagen, Porsche and Mitsubishi, though these producers haven’t returned for 2022.

This 12 months’s assortment of OEMs consists of 5 groups taking part within the X-Cross group, and eight within the 4X4 group. And Ford, Jeep, Toyota and Rivian are operating a number of groups. Some groups are made up of rookies whereas others embody a mixture of rookies and alumni. Here’s how these groups break down:

X-Cross Teams

Kia is operating a 2023 Kia Sportage X-Pro with Team 206, made up of a pair of veteran Rebelles: Tana White and Verena Mei. White is a 5 time Rebelle, and Verena is taking part for the second time. Mei has been an expert sim and rally racer, in addition to a driving teacher.

Honda is operating a 2023 Honda Passport Trailsport with Team 208, made up of Hillary Tate, who’s a rookie, and Liz Long, who’s a 3 time Rebelle.

This 12 months, Hyundai is attending with a pair of automotive journalists behind the wheel of a 2023 Hyundai Santa Cruz. Kirstin Shaw and Jill Ciminilo, each of whom are rookies, make up Team 215 for Hyundai.

Nissan has been a longtime backer of the Rebelle, taking part since 2015 with completely different autos and completely different groups. This 12 months, the corporate has a 2023 Pathfinder X-Cross within the competitors piloted by long-running Team 216, made up of Lyn Woodward and Sedona Blinson. Woodward is an auto journalist, and Blinson is a instructor. Both have been taking part within the Rebelle for a few years.

And there’s additionally a pair of OG Rebelles taking part with the assistance of Ford, in a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands. Team 200 is made up of Melissa Fischer and Chris Benzie; they each have participated within the Rebelle for a number of years. In truth, Fischer was a part of the group that received the X-Cross designation in 2021.

4X4 Teams

Ford has a complete of three groups within the Rebelle this 12 months; one is within the earlier class, and two groups are within the 4×4 class. Team 131 is operating a 2021 Ford Bronco, and is made up of teammates Kathryn Reinhardt and Tori Bundrant; each are two-time Rebelles. Team 150 consists of Shelby Hall and Penny Dale. Hall is the granddaughter of legendary Baja racer Rod Hall, and a well-known off-road racer in her personal proper. Both Hall and Dale are longstanding Rebelles.

Jeep is operating a complete of three groups on this 12 months’s Rebelle Rally, too: these are Team 111, Team 129 and Team 160. All three groups are operating the highly-capable Jeep Wrangler 4xe — which can get the Electrified designation.

Team 111 is made up of Emily Winslow and Mercedes Lilienthal, who’s additionally an auto journalist. Both are Rebelle alumni who ran within the Volkswagen ID.4 on the occasion final 12 months. Team 129 consists of well-known off-road coach, Nena Barlow, and Teralin Petereit; they had been the 4×4 champions in 2021. And Team 160 is made up of two-time Rebelle Racquel Black and rookie Kaitlyn Milky.

Toyota is a significant sponsor of the Rebelle this 12 months. The firm is backing the dwell present, and sponsoring three groups made up of Toyota engineers: these are Team 152, Team 153, and Team 182. Team 152 is made up of Sam Barber and Becky Brophy, each of whom are two-time Rebelles. Team 153 is made up of Karen Yde and Crystal Mink. And Team 182 is Carole Koenig and Libby Perego. Two Toyota groups are operating in 2022 Toyota Tundra hybrids, whereas the opposite group is competing in a 2018 Toyota Tundra.

And, lastly, electrical automaker, Rivian is operating two autos within the Rebelle this 12 months, and like Toyota, Rivian selected to supply their groups internally. Team 186 is made up of Nicole Johnson, the Director of Human Machine Interface (HMI) at Rivian, and her navigator is Rosanna Nuch, a Senior Service Lab Technician at Rivian. They’re in a model new R1S. Both Nicole and Rosana are rookies.

Rivian can also be operating an R1T (truck) with rookie Team 187, made up of Lilly Macaruso, who labored the Rebelle final 12 months and helped my group cope with every little thing from altitude illness to a gnarly sandstorm, and Alex Anderson. Macaruso is a Senior Special Project Engineer at Rivian, and Anderson is a Senior Mechanical Engineer on the EV firm.

That’s it for the OEM-backed groups. We’ll hold you up to date on how the Rebelle Rally goes this 12 months, so keep tuned for extra.