![]() “Working with Lexus again is like a breath of fresh air,” she says. This existing relationship with Toyota and Lexus helped Croft feel comfortable putting a Lexus to the ultimate off-roading test of the Rebelle. The family started the adventure brand in 2010, and since 2015, Toyota has provided vehicles for the brand’s overlanding trips to places such as Central America, British Columbia, South America, Baja and Alaska. Clay did a great job knowing the Lexus brand, making sure it looked very sleek and professional, so at first glance, you may not know everything going on underneath.”īoth Crofts have worked with Toyota and Lexus before through their company Expedition Overland. “The whole time I kept telling Clay, ‘It’s got to be light,’” she says. Knowing Croft was going to drive it, the duo was able to upgrade the off-road-ready SUV to her and Pawley’s exact specifications. After the team’s win, Croft got a unique opportunity: together with her husband, Clay, cofounder of Expedition Overland, Lexus hired them to modify the Lexus J201 Concept to debut in the 2020 Rebelle Rally. Teams might put bigger tires on it, upgrade the suspension, but it’s never anything that your average person couldn’t do.”ĭuring her second Rebelle in 2019, Croft drove a Lexus GX 460 with navigator Taylor Pawley, and the pair won the 4×4 class and the ‘bone stock’ award (bone stock designation only allows for tires and wheels to be changed). “You’re not going to see trophy trucks, you’re going to see vehicles people have in their driveways. “They’re pretty strict on how many modifications you can make,” she says. According to Croft, who competed in the event three times, the Rally is all about showcasing what the vehicle can do. All vehicles need to be street legal, with minimal modifications. The Rebelle is a competition for stock - original equipment manufacturer vehicles - not race cars. ![]() When in reality, anyone can get in a GX or a 4Runner and do this rally with a stock vehicle if you have the right skills.” “Most people just don’t know how to drive a vehicle correctly, so they have to build it up to get the clearance to go over obstacles. “The rally is designed to emphasize smart driving,” says Croft. Equipped only with maps, a compass and a roadbook, teams earn points for accuracy, not for racing against the clock. ![]() Participants compete in teams of two and need both off-road driving expertise and navigational skills - incorporating elements like map challenges, hidden checkpoints, time and distance into the event. ![]() 7-16, is an eight-day off-road navigation rally raid for women that covers more than 1,440 miles of terrain across the Nevada and California desert. ![]() Now, Croft is bringing her expertise to the broadcast booth by partnering with Lexus to present this year’s livestream event. She competed in the inaugural Rebelle Rally in 2016, the first women’s off-road navigation rally raid in the United States. When her friend Emily Miller wanted to bring a rally stateside to make off-roading more accessible for women in the U.S., Croft was ready for the challenge. My very first time driving in the sand was with Rod Hall behind me, yelling orders.”Īfter competing in the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, a nine-day, long-distance rally in Morocco, Croft was hooked and competed in the event three times. I’d never even seen a sand dune, but figured, why not? I’ll give it a try. “I’d never done anything like it before in my life,” she says. To prepare, she trained with legendary off-roaders such as Emily Miller and Rod Hall, and soon she found herself taking on the Sahara. When Rachelle Croft, driver and cofounder of adventure company Expedition Overland, entered her first off-roading navigation rally, she had never even driven in the desert. ![]()
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