Rebelle Rally Field Update: Prologue
Welcome to the start of the competition for the 2024 Rebelle Rally! Today, teams had the chance to chase their first checkpoints and shake off the dust during the day’s practice. Prologue was a 137-kilometer loop route with ten checkpoints, two optional X checkpoints, and one on-time enduro. Today’s checkpoints were unscored; however, the teams’ enduro results seeded their start time for the first official day of competition, ensuring the top scorers a clear trail in the front of the pack.
Basecamp One for the 2024 rally is nestled in a remote location in South Central Nevada, where the Rebelle Rally first visited in 2021. Today’s route took them on a portion of that course but ran in the opposite direction. It took them into the volcanic area of the Lunar Crater National Monument, just east of camp. The landscape featured lava flows, craters, fun high desert trails, and double tracks to hunt for today’s checkpoints. The competitors then descended into Railroad Valley for an on-time enduro, which was scored to determine DAY 1’s starting positions. First off of the line for DAY 1 will be Team #156 The Honey Badgers (Rasa Fuller/Leeway Pasek) followed by Team #125 Saguaro Sisters (Nicole McKinnon/Kristen Goslawski) and Team #204 MtnSubi (Carey Lando/Andrea Shaffer). Competitors leave the line beginning at 7:00 am, with the live broadcast presented by Toyota starting at 6:45 am.
Just getting to the Prologue start line was a challenge for one team. On their way from Tech Inspection to the first Basecamp, Team #193 High Mile Club of Emma Debany and Nicole McCammon’s third teammate, a 1986 Toyota 4Runner, suffered a catastrophic failure of the engine and just 24 hours ago weren’t sure they were going to be able even to start the Rebelle Rally. A new engine would be necessary to continue.
“I was hyper-discouraged,” said driver Emma Debany. “I almost passed out yesterday from fear that we wouldn’t be able to do the rally. But very quickly, solutions came together, and the mechanic team here is amazing. LC Engineering down in Arizona, got us a new motor in record time. The mechanic team here is putting it in record time. So, it’s just been amazing to have everyone come together and be so supportive and find solutions, where in the normal world, there wouldn’t be one for weeks or even months.”
Just 22 hours after the incident, Rebelle Rally Chief Mechanic Nick Cimmarusti and the mechanics’ team supported by Pennzoil replaced the motor, and Team High Mile Club was able to run through the checkpoints and enduro with the rest of the field. Emma and Nicole will be starting 52nd on DAY 1, and we can’t wait to see them in their almost 40-year-old Toyota cross the finish line.
Nick and the entire mechanics team have to be prepared for anything that might happen out on the Rally, most of which is done before the competitors even arrive at Tech Inspection. “We’re always trying to plan ahead as to what we’re going to need out here,” shared Cimmarusti. “Along with our Milwaukee Tools, which are a staple in the mechanic’s tent, we try to anticipate parts we might need since we can’t just make multiple trips to the store.”
DAY 1 of scored competition for the 2024 Rebelle Rally starts tomorrow. Follow along the Rebelle Rally live through the Rebelle Rally LIVE Webcast Presented by Toyota. Daily broadcasts will be available via rebellerally.com, YouTube, and Facebook, featuring morning competition day previews, scoring updates, and evening recap shows. For real-time updates, live tracking, scores, daily recaps, team bios, and more, visit the rally’s official website and connect with the community on social media @rebellerally on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Partner Highlight: Toyota
Known for pushing the boundaries of next-generation mobility, Toyota’s partnership with the Rebelle Rally highlights their commitment to their team members. It’s not just about the vehicle. It’s about building teamwork and collaboration to cross-pollinate their experience and expertise across the organization, resulting in the development of projects that take them to the next level of mobility.
“We leverage the Rebelle and the great work that Emily and her team do with all of these events to provide an opportunity for our females [Toyota Team Members] to have that interaction, teamwork, camaraderie, and build trust every day. Those elements are happening here and are happening organically, and how that translates for us on the business side into a lot of great work. Innovation is done through collaboration. So, these team members come from different facets of the organization. We’ve got those from R & D, manufacturing, the headquarters office, and Fuel Cell. How do we see becoming a mobility company? We need that network to happen, and it’s happening here at the Rebelle organically. We strive to create battery electric or hybrid and create diverse powertrain options for our customers. We can do that through events like Rebelle and grow our team members. And these females here are amazing.” Carla Wright, Vice President of Manufacturing at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas
Get ready to see why Toyota remains a leader in the off-road and automotive industry. For more about Toyota, check out www.toyota.com
About the Rebelle Rally
The Rebelle Rally is the longest competitive off-road rally in the United States. Traversing over 2,100 kilometers through Nevada and California’s iconic terrain, it is an endurance competition for women consisting of precision driving and navigating – not fastest speed. The competition is innovative and unique, using maps, compass, roadbooks and strategy – known as Rebelle Format. GPS and other electronic devices are strictly prohibited. Remote and off-grid for eight competition days, the Rebelle Rally is considered a providing ground for people, products and stock manufacturer vehicles.
