Jeep is sending three factory teams in Wrangler 4xes to the Rebelle Rally this year. The brand hopes to defend the victories it earned in the Overall, Electrified, and Bone Stock classes.
“As the Jeep brand continues toward its goal to be the electrification leader in the 4×4 segment, the Rebelle Rally is the ultimate proving ground for our electrified future,” said Jim Morrison, senior vice president and head of Jeep brand North America. “This year, we’re supporting three teams comprised of some amazing women, including last year’s first-place winners Nena Barlow and Teralin Petereit and a Navajo team that includes Jeep employee Kaitlyn Mulkey.”
Impressively, all three titles won in 2021 were earned by a single team, which is returning for the 2022 event. Made up of Nena Barlow and Teralin Petereit, Team 4xEventure have earned 10 class wins and nine podiums at the event, which first took place in 2015.
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Based in Arizona, Barlow is an off-roading legend, who provides 4WD training, Jeep rentals, and guided trips in the southwest U.S. as the owner and operator of Barlow Adventures. Petereit, meanwhile, is based in Utah and makes her living as a nurse. A keen off-roader, both she and Barlow have competed in the Rebelle Rally five times. Last year was their first time competing as a team, however, and both are excited to return and compete in the bone stock 4×4 class.
Emily Winslow and Mercedes Lilienthal, meanwhile, will form Team Nor’Wester. They are also returning competitors, who have participated in the event a combined five times. They have competed in every class (4×4, X-Class, Electrified, and Bone Stock) and both hail from the Pacific Northwest.
Team Hózhó Vibrations, finally, is made up of Kaitlyn Mulkey, a Jeep brand employee, and Raquel Black. Both women are enrolled members of the Navajo (Diné) Nation and will represent it at this event.
Despite working for the brand, this will be Mulkey’s first attempt to take on the Rebelle Rally. She has been riding dirt bikes since she was seven, though, and has always been mechanically inclined. She holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M and manages tribal relations for the Jeep brand.
The automaker will be represented in more than just its factory teams. The sold out event will have 60 teams participating, nearly a third of which will be competing in privately-owned Jeep vehicles.
“Jeep has believed in and supported the Rebelle Rally since the beginning, we are pleased and honored with their return,” said Rebelle Rally founder Emily Miller. “We have strived to put together a progressive electrified program, one that stresses both environmental and land stewardship responsibilities. As the world migrates to an electrified future, the Rebelle is the ultimate proving ground for automotive manufacturers and their electrified products.”
Taking place from October 6 to the 15th, the 2022 running of the Rebelle Rally will start in Incline Village, Nevada and finish in the famous Imperial Sand Dunes in Southern California after a grueling 1,500 miles (2,414 km) of off-road driving.
