I'm going to try and paste the newsletter I've been getting. Tough day for Jill and Kristin yesterday.
October 15, 2024, Dumont Dunes, CA
The Rebelle Rally has officially reached the first dunes of the competition! On a multi-loop competition day, teams tested their mettle in the sand and surrounding rocky terrain. Featuring a long desert loop including the iconic Sperry Wash, the southeastern edge of Death Valley, and skirting the Kingston Range Wilderness, competitors were able to enjoy their time on this extended loop with fewer checkpoints and big views of the landscape, finishing up in the dunes of Little Dumont. The smaller loop was at the Dumont Dunes open OHV area, which allowed teams to chase out-of-order checkpoints in the sand.
Vehicles such as the Jeep Wranglers, Gladiators, and the popular Ford Broncos are made to take on this terrain. Many teams, including the current leaders in the 4x4 class, run their Jeep 4x4s “bone stock.” In the Rebelle, this designation is given to teams who don’t make any modifications to their vehicle beyond potential wheel and tire upgrades and other minor alterations. A special award is given to the manufacturer and team of the highest-scoring “bone stock” vehicle.
Today’s teams left the start line for their dunes day in reverse seed order; the highest-ranked teams went last. This mixed up the performance today, showing that start orders can help or hinder you, depending on your experience and strategy. At the end of DAY 4, the Bone Stock designated 2024 Jeep Gladiator Mojave of Team #129, piloted by multi-time winning duo Nena Barlow and Teralin Petereit, came out on top; however, another bone stock competitor is close on their heels. The 2023 Ford Bronco Raptor of Team #150 Desert Roots of Shelby Hall and Rori Lewis delivers a brutish 418 hp through its 3.0L Ecoboost® V6 engine, and is close behind them in the overall standing.
The competition in the X-Cross® class is no less exciting. A long day covering 241 km for the group left teams tired at the end of this mid-rally day, with the 2025 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands Sasquatch of Team #200 Built Wild of Melissa Clark and Kathryn Reinhardt taking the top spot for DAY 4 just edging out Team #204 MtnSubi of Carey Lando and Andrea Shaffer.
As teams prepare to depart from the second Basecamp, the competition will continue to head south to more mountainous and sandy terrain.
For real-time updates, live tracking, live scoring, and team bios, visit the official Rebelle Rally website at rebellerally.com. The Rebelle Rally LIVE Webcast, presented by Toyota, includes daily competition previews and evening recaps and can be watched via rebellerally.com, YouTube, and Facebook.
Day 5: Jill and Kristin are in 32nd place out of 52 teams.
October 16, 2024, Soggy Lake, Johnson Valley, CA
The competition is heating up as Rebelles left Dumont Dunes today to made their way further south to the final basecamp on Soggy Lake, nestled down in Johnson Valley, California. The teams started their morning with a long on-route enduro heading south through Rasor OHV and, ultimately, ending up in the iconic Johnson Valley OHV area. After they passed through Rasor, the 4x4 competitors had both a regular and X-option. The X-option was shorter but rougher terrain that took returning Rebelles to a new section of the course for competitors.
Once the teams reached Johnson Valley, checkpoints could be hunted out of order. There were X-options for both the 4x4 and X-Cross this afternoon, which once again were rugged terrain but designed to challenge all the teams, especially the higher-ranking ones competing for the podium.
DAY 5 ended with 249 tough kilometers covered by the teams as they prepare for their final push for the last few days of competition. The current standings for 4x4 and X-Cross are tight, and every checkpoint can change the results. Johnson Valley is known for being rough on vehicles, and today was no exception. From numerous shredded tires to shocks to punctured oil pans, the mechanics have their hands full this evening.
In the 4x4 class, the Jeep Gladiator Mojave of Team #129 and Ford Bronco Raptor of Team #150 continue to be neck and neck for the top position. Close on their heels is the brand new 2024 Toyota Tacoma purpose-built by Rebelle Rally partner, TOTAL CHAOS Fabrication. While 46 points separate the top three teams, this is still anyone’s competition to win or lose.
Today’s X-Cross® competition featured highs and lows as DAY 4’s top team, Team 200, with their 2025 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands Sasquatch, who had been challenging Team 204’s early performance, suffered damage in Johnson Valley’s rocky terrain and had to be towed back to basecamp. Ford Bronco Sports have been champions in the X-Cross class for the past four years since the popular compact crossover SUV was released. The Bronco Sport has an all-wheel drive system with G.O.A.T. modes (Goes Over Any Terrain), so their owners can truly go anywhere. As the Subaru and Ford Bronco Sport continued their competition, the BMW X3 M50 steadily worked its way through the checkpoints to finish the day at second overall.
As teams head out on their final marathon stage tomorrow, competition is fierce, and as we have seen in the past, the Rebelle isn’t over until the end of DAY 7!
Follow along for real-time updates, live tracking, live scoring, and team bios by visiting the official Rebelle Rally website at rebellerally.com. The Rebelle Rally LIVE Webcast, presented by Toyota, includes daily competition previews and evening recaps and can be watched via rebellerally.com, YouTube, and Facebook.
www.scoring.rebellerally.com
