The Rivian R1T is going down in history after winning its first-ever Rebelle Rally. The electric pickup truck finished first after the 1,600-mile off-road adventure. It was also the first time an electric vehicle has won the competition.
The Rebelle Rally is the longest off-road race in the United States, stretching along 1,600 miles (2,574 kilometers). The teams have to navigate through the desert, rock, and stone, through the desert of Nevada and California, fighting the elements of the moody weather.
All throughout the 1,600 miles and eight days, the driver and navigator can only use paper maps, compasses and plotters. The competition does not allow the use of GPS or any other digital navigation gadget.
This year, Rivian entered no fewer than four R1Ts, with Rivian employees on board three of them. Driver Lillian Macaruso and navigator Alexandra Anderson, the winning duo, were also part of the development team for the electric pickup truck.
Lillian is a Special Projects Engineer for the brand, while Alexandra is a Senior Mechanical Engineer. Together, they where the Limestone Legends team. They gathered 1,395 points, which equals 88 percent of the available points.
The Rivian R1T was stock with some exceptions
The electric pickup truck they drove to victory was stock except for the tires. Together, they made some changes on board as well to help them keep things organized. Now, after crossing the finish line, they are sure that every single mod helped them be more efficient. For instance, a 3D-printed cup holder that hooked onto the center console and a lower tray that was placed right below it made the cabin more practical for the two of them.
Last year, the two of them finished fourth out of 45 teams and went home with the Rookies of the Year award. They have one more thing to brag about last year: together, they changed a tire in four minutes flat. Right after the race, Alexandra got married. The newlyweds drove away in the R1T that the bride had competed in. The pickup truck sported the “Just Married” sign and showed up in the wedding photos (check out the photo gallery!).
Photo: Rivian
Furthermore, Rivian’s customer team, with Mandy Brezina as driver and Alex Gilman as co-driver, completed the rally in a personally owned vehicle, finishing in the 11th position. It was Mandy’s fourth appearance. Three R1Ts were actually in the top 20. The fourth Rivian in the race finished in the 30th place out of 55 entries in the 4x4 class.
The California-based startup first entered the Rebelle Rally back in 2020, when journalist Emme Hall drove a pre-production R1T for the first time.
A 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe finished second with 1,359 points, while a 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor took the final spot on the podium with 1,301 points.
One of the most challenging parts of the competition for those who participated driving an electric vehicle was charging in the desert. There are no charging stations on the sand dunes.
For this year’s Rebelle Rally, companies like Pennzoil for gas and Renewable Innovations for green hydrogen came into play. Renewable Innovations has been providing DC fast chargers for the competition since 2020. But until this year, they used diesel generators to power the chargers out there. In 2023, they switched to hydrogen.
According to the founder of the competition, Emily Miller, the supplier had to bring 800 kilograms of green hydrogen, necessary for the event. Four charging points were available to competitors along the 1,600 miles. They don’t sit in one place, but are trailered out to spots along the course were they are needed.
Photo: Rivian
It was a rollercoaster ride, especially on the eighth day of the rally. The heat and the wind were troublesome. But the ladies had spent weeks of training, hundreds of hours in the car and checking the maps until they learned them by heart. There was nothing that could stop Lilly and Alex.
It is also the first time an electric vehicle has won the 4x4 class, which is the main category of the competition.
The top 10 teams in the 2023 Rebelle Rally
2023 Rivian R1T
2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4xe
2022 Ford Bronco Raptor
Ford Bronco Wildtrak
2020 Toyota 4Runner
2023 Ford Bronco Raptor
2019 Lexus GX460
2023 Land Rover Defender
2018 Jeep JL
2005 Toyota Tacoma
This is how it all started
The first edition of the Rebelle Rally took place back in 2015. It was the first women-only off-road navigation rally raid in the United States, allowing brave female drivers to go out there into the wild without any navigation tool of our times.
For around 1,600 miles, they can only rely on compasses, paper maps, and plotters to know exactly where they are and where they are supposed to go. Finding the mobile charging truck this way is quite a challenge.
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