images: Ford Performance
This past weekend, 68 all-female teams completed eight tough days of competition: the Rebelle Rally. The days start early, the navigation tools are basic, and the vehicles showcase strengths while helping manufacturers further improve. Finishing isn’t certain, so it’s with pride the off-roading community and fans of Ford can say congratulations to the 2024 Rebelle Rally drivers and navigators, including the five Ford Performance teams for their top 10 and podium placements!
Bronco Sport Brings Home an X-Cross Silver
For the X-Cross class, Melissa Clark and Kathryn Reinhardt placed second in the 2025 Bronco Sport Badlands with Sasquatch Package, making it the fifth year in a row the Sport has had a successful run.
Melissa has completed the Rebelle every year since it launched, and Bronco Nation asked her what this year was like compared to the others.
"I’ve just finished my ninth Rebelle Rally and my fourth one driving the Bronco Sport in the X-Cross class," said Melissa. "One of the biggest differences I noticed was a combination of course ruggedness and a race for time to get to the checkpoints. In the past, we’ve certainly had rugged courses, but for the most part, I always felt I could move at a rate of speed that would still allow me to collect most, if not all the available checkpoints (CPs).
"This year, there were very tight closing times and challenges that would not allow the X-Cross class in particular to get to CPs without risking the car. If you want an example, you can look at the Rebelle Rally scoring site for Day 5. You’ll see lots of red scores, meaning the teams activated their trackers after the closing times and did not get awarded those scores. There were checkpoints that simply could not be collected in the time allotment. At times, it felt a bit demoralizing, especially when you are not aware of how other teams are performing.
"This was also the Rally of the silver lining. After a major mechanical break in Johnson Valley on day 5, Ford, including Darin Spreadbury and Mikhele Fiorini; my husband, Brian Clark, who made a 600-mile parts run; and the Rebelle mechanics team, led by Nick Cimmarusti, all worked together to locate and source an oil pan and skid plate and get the car put back together. By midnight the night of the break, we were back together and had two more great days of competition, allowing us to finish second in class and win the Bone Stock award once more for Ford."
Those who tuned in daily witnessed a fierce fight to regain ground through live tracking and standings, and soon, Bronco Nation will be getting Melissa’s full firsthand report of the rally. Take a look back at 2023’s behind-the-scenes story while we wait!
Bronco and Ranger Raptor Take Top-10 Wins in 4X4 Class
In the 4x4 class, Shelby Hall and Rori Lewis placed second in a 2023 Bronco Raptor. Laura Wanlass and Penny Dale, in a 2022 Bronco Raptor, came in fourth. Bailey Campbell and Sedona Blinson were close behind in the 2024 Ranger Raptor, finishing in fifth place. Karisa Haydon and Trista Smith ended the rally in seventh place in a 2023 Bronco Wildtrak.
The Rebelle Rally
Any woman can enter the Rebelle Rally, and over the last nine years, ladies of all experience levels, from rookies to star drivers, have done so, growing in off-roading and navigational skills as they take on approximately 1,500 miles of course without any GPS tools or support teams.
The next rally is October 9-18, 2025. We hope many other females are inspired to challenge themselves in rallies to come, and we trust the Ford Bronco, Sport, and other vehicles in the Ford lineup will continue power them with the performance they need to compete!
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