Rebelle Rally Field Update: DAY 5

October 18, 2023
Johnson Valley, CA

Competitors were greeted today with another marathon leg as they departed Ridgecrest on their journey South. The day started with teams departing on a long unique marathon leg that took them through Cuddeback south of Red Mountain. Heading off the pavement onto the dirt, the teams headed east toward a massive dry lakebed and their first green checkpoint of the day to get them into Johnson Valley. Once they checked in, the teams were off on an on-route enduro for back-to-back enduros which led them to hunt out-of-order checkpoints for the afternoon. At the end of the first day of this marathon leg, competitors stopped to camp after 10 hours of their start time. Teams are spread out across three different zones where they will spend the night before starting their next leg, Day 6. This second to last stage will find teams arriving at their final basecamp in Glamis and get their scores tallied from the past two days.

BMW M2 M35i

The third teammate is an essential part of any Rebelle Rally team and the ideal proving ground to test a manufacturer’s products so we were happy to welcome BMW when they were interested in bringing out their all-new X2 before even the media could get their hands on it. Unveiled to the world on October 11^th, just hours before pre-tech started, the BMW X2 made its digital debut. Now in its second generation, the X2 is BMW’s extremely capable compact Sport Activity Coupe.

The new X2 is equipped with a 2.0-liter TwinPower turbo 4-cylinder engine and to add to the competitive nature of the Rebelle Rally team, they were outfitted with the top M35i trim which gives the car 312 hp.
For the Rebelle competition, the X2 received mild modifications that solidified its off-road capabilities:

• Falken WildPeak AT Trail Tires
• Rotiform ZMO-M Wheels
• Morimoto Triple Row BangerBar (front) and 2Banger Pod lights (rear)
• XPEL Stealth Paint Protection Film and Ultimate Plus Paint Protection Film
• Thule Caprock roof platform
• Smittybilt off-road recovery gear and accessories
• BMW M Performance Parts tow straps
• Custom underbody protection/skid plate
• Custom cargo area spare tire carrier
• TerraTrip external odometer

Piloted by veteran Rebelle competitors, Rebecca Donaghe and Sedona Blinson, the team only had a few hours with the vehicle before jumping into chasing checkpoints. Their experience and tenacity as competitors have kept Team #205 Wild Grace 8.0 in the hunt for a podium of the X-Cross™ class.