Lucas Bell 
The Rebelle Rally is the longest competitive off-road rally in the United States. All modern navigational equipment is banned, leaving participants to use just road books, a map, and an old school compass to navigate over 1,500 miles of the Nevada and California wilderness. The event also happens to be exclusively for women, with 36 teams and nine automakers signing on for this year’s running. Ford is one of those automakers, and they are sending three Bronco Sport SUVs to take on the challenge.
According to Bronco Nation, Ford will be sending three Ford Bronco Sport utility vehicles in factory spec to compete in the Crossover Class of the Rebelle Rally. This is the first time that the Dearborn automaker has participated, and also the first time an automaker has sponsored three vehicles. Each car will be handled by a team of two women, one driver and one navigator. Bronco Sport Brand Manager Jovina Young and Ford’s Marketing Comms Manager Erica Martin are the only Ford employees taking part in the event. Young will be driving while Martin handles the navigation, however they share no off-roading experience between the two of them. A perfect challenge then to see just how approachable the Bronco Sport is out on the trials.
Off-roading racer Shelby Hall will also be behind the wheel of a Bronco Sport this year, with Penny Dale calling out directions by her side. Car and Driver contributor and off-road fanatic Elana Scherr will also be co-piloting a baby Bronco alongside Betsy Anderson. The three teams will use their CUVs to traverse a mixture of a mix of dirt roads, off-road trails, and sand dunes.
While Ford providing three vehicles is already impressive, one could argue they’ve played a part in at least four entries. That is because Rivian will be supplying an R1T pickup for the event, which will be wheeled by Emmy Hall of CNET Roadshow fame and Rebecca Donaghe. Off-roading fans may recall that this driver/navigator combo managed to capture a first place finish in the Crossover Class last year. They did so in a Rolls Royce Cullinan, which wore 21-inch rims wrapped in snow tires. We challenge anyone to try and succeed in doing that.
The Rebelle Rally kicked off on October 8th, and will run until the 17th. You can keep up to date with the competitors progress and tune in live on the Rebelle Rally website.
