These Are The Winners Of The 2023 Rebelle Rally

The eighth Rebelle Rally came to its conclusion in the Imperial Sand Dunes just north of the Mexico/California border. This year 65 teams vied for the podium over seven grueling days. They started in Mammoth Mountain, CA with temperatures dropping to 15-degrees some nights as competitors tried to sleep in their tents.

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Course director Jimmy Lewis sent both 4×4 and X-Cross class teams through some of the most spectacular terrain California and Nevada have to offer. The course started at the Upper Owens River, then wound its way to the near-forgotten ghost town of Gold Point, through the rocky trails of Ridgecrest, CA. The haunting Trona Pinnacles and whooped out Johnson Valley were both on the menu as teams made their way south to Glamis and the largest system of sand dunes in North America.

Competitors called it the most challenging of Rebelles yet as they sought out over 200 checkpoints and covered 2500 kilometers. By competition’s end, an all-electric Rivian R1T took top spot on the 4×4 podium. Team 187, Limestone Legends, charged their way, thanks to Renewable Innovations, across the course with a total of 1359 points. Not far behind them, making for intense competition was Team 129 made up of 2022 competition winners Nena Barlow and Teralin Petereit in their 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe. Third place in the 4×4 class went to Laura Wanlass and Maria Guitar of team 188 in their Ford Bronco Raptor.

The X-Cross class comprised of vehicles without a transfer case and only AWD capability arguably had the tougher job without that low range on some tough terrain. But these teams and their vehicles battled hard over the seven days keeping the competition interesting. Landing on top for the three-peat was team 200, Melissa Clark and Jessica Moore in their 2022 Ford Bronco Sport. An unlikely newcomer to the field was the 2024 BMW X2 M35i. Wild Grace, team 205, piloted by Rebecca Donaghe and navigator Sedona Blinson took the only BMW of its kind in North America as it’s still a pre-production model across the desert for the German manufacturer and came in a lofty second place. Coming in third in a Kia Telluride X-Pro was Verena Mei and her navigator Susie Saxton of team 206.

Rookie awards went to Team 212, Nicole Rotondo and Serena Halterman in a 2023 Honda Passport. The 4×4 class rookie podium saw a 2023 Toyota Sequoia come out on top with team 182, Myra Padda and Sandra Li. Second and third place rookie awards went to Heather Eich and Allison McGowan in another Sequoia and Toni Hlavnicka and Caralina Carlson in a 2023 Ford Bronco Badlands respectively.

The International Cup was handed out to Canadian team CanToy Drives, team 144 made up of Liza Tough and Sue Chapin. And the Team Spirit awards, voted on by their fellow competitors, went to Team 204, Mountain Subie (Carey Lando and Dorothy Rake) who towed the number two 4×4 winner across the finish line when they ran out of fuel.

Photo: Rebelle Rally

A new Perseverance Award went to a team of sisters from France who moved to the United States to work for a year and save up for the rally. Team 117, Brouck Sisters, Maureen and Hortense, were so driven to compete in the rally they bought a 1998 Jeep TJ sight unseen in Texas then drove straight to tech inspection.

Registration for the 2024 Rebelle is already open.