The women in Dakar are not a side story or a footnote. They are spread across multiple categories, different philosophies of racing and vastly different backgrounds, all united by the same challenge: surviving and competing in the toughest rally raid on the planet. From factory backed efforts to deeply personal projects, this year’s entry list shows just how broad the landscape has become for women in the Dakar Rally.
Below is a driver focused look at every woman competing in Dakar 2026, category by category, without the noise. Just who they are, where they race and why their presence matters.
1. Cristina Gutiérrez (Ultimate, Dacia Sandriders)
Cristina Gutiérrez enters Dakar 2026 as one of the most accomplished women ever to compete in rally raid. The Spaniard is now fully established in the Ultimate category with Dacia, alongside names like Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al Attiyah.
Her 2024 Challenger class victory made her only the second woman in Dakar history to win a category, following Jutta Kleinschmidt. Since then, she has transitioned into the premier class with growing confidence, combining speed, intelligence and race management. Dakar 2026 marks her tenth Dakar overall and another step in proving she belongs at the very front of the field.
2. Laia Sanz (Ultimate, Ebro Audax Motorsport)
Laia Sanz remains the benchmark for longevity and consistency at Dakar. The Catalan rider turned driver has finished every Dakar she started until her first early retirement in 2025, an experience that only sharpened her focus.
After years of success on bikes and a steady adaptation to cars, 2026 sees her debut a brand new Spanish manufacturer project with Ebro in a T1+ car. Expectations are realistic but ambitious, with Sanz aiming to build competitiveness while carrying the weight of launching an entirely new programme on Dakar’s biggest stage.
3. Maria Gameiro (Ultimate, X Raid MINI)
Maria Gameiro’s rise has been fast and quietly impressive. A relative latecomer to professional rally raid, she arrives at Dakar 2026 with a T1+ MINI and one of the most unique entries on the grid.
Her previous Dakar experience in the Challenger class gave her the foundation needed to step up, and 2026 marks her first Dakar in the Ultimate category. Gameiro’s approach is grounded and realistic, but her goal of leading the Lady Cup fight and making history with an all female crew gives her campaign added significance.
4. Aliyyah Koloc (Ultimate, Buggyra ZM Racing)
At just 21, Aliyyah Koloc is already a Dakar veteran. Dakar 2026 will be her fourth appearance, once again in the Ultimate class with Buggyra.
Koloc blends competitive ambition with a strong social mission through her Foundation 29, using Dakar as a global platform beyond motorsport. Still developing consistency in the toughest category, she enters 2026 aiming to turn experience into results, backed by one of the most technically ambitious private teams on the grid.
5. Dania Akeel (Challenger, BBR)
Dania Akeel continues her steady progression as one of the strongest women in the Challenger category. After stage wins and an Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory, Dakar 2026 represents a genuine shot at a Challenger podium.
Akeel’s development curve has been steep, combining regional rally success with growing Dakar confidence. Her target is clear and realistic: fight for the top three and, if everything aligns, challenge for the class win.
6. Puck Klaassen (Challenger, G Rally Team KTM X Bow)
Puck Klaassen’s Dakar journey is still in its learning phase, but the progress is undeniable. After finishing Dakar Classic in 2024 and stepping into the Challenger category in 2025, she returns for Dakar 2026 with more mileage, more confidence and a clearer understanding of what the event demands.
Her development role with the KTM X Bow based project adds technical depth to her campaign, and while results are secondary, Klaassen enters this Dakar aiming to consolidate and push closer to the front.
7. Rebecca Busi (Challenger, X Raid)
Italian driver Rebecca Busi returns to Dakar with unfinished business. After a mixed Dakar experience including a retirement, her 2026 entry focuses on survival, learning and consistency rather than outright performance.
With a background that values endurance and navigation, Busi’s Dakar 2026 objective is simple but significant: reach the finish line and build a platform for future entries.
8. Vic Flip (Challenger, MM Rallye)
Dakar 2026 marks Vic Flip’s debut in the rally. Coming from an amateur off road background, her entry is rooted in personal achievement rather than results.
Her expectations are refreshingly honest. Finish, learn, adapt. In a category as unforgiving as Challenger, simply reaching the final podium in Saudi Arabia would be a victory in itself.
9. Sara Price (Stock, Defender Rally)
Sara Price returns for her third Dakar with one of the most ambitious manufacturer backed projects in the Stock category. Already a Dakar stage winner and one of the most successful American off road racers of her generation, Price enters 2026 with history in mind.
Her stated ambition of becoming the first American woman to win Dakar is bold, but her résumé suggests it is not unrealistic. Defender’s revised Stock regulations may give her the most competitive platform she has had yet.
10. Helen Tait Wright (Classic, Gazelles Offroad Team)
Helen Tait Wright makes her Dakar debut in the Classic category, bringing a creative and cultural background into one of the most tradition driven classes of the rally.
Her project focuses on storytelling, heritage and experience, with Dakar 2026 representing a deeply personal challenge rather than a sporting benchmark.
11. Sophie Bié (Classic, Team SSP)
Sophie Bié enters Dakar Classic as part of one of the all female crews on the entry list. With extensive regularity rally experience, her Dakar 2026 objective centres on finishing and representing women in a category that demands patience, precision and mechanical sympathy.
12. Kim Matzen (Classic, Compagnie Saharienne)
American driver Kim Matzen arrives at Dakar Classic after years in Ultra4 and rock crawling. Dakar 2026 is the realisation of a long held ambition, transitioning from domestic off road racing to the world’s most demanding rally.
Her programme is built around preparation, learning and absorbing the Dakar experience step by step.
13. Rachele Somaschini (Classic Truck, Tecnosport)
Rachele Somaschini’s Dakar entry goes far beyond motorsport. Competing while living with cystic fibrosis, she uses Dakar as a platform to raise awareness and funding for research.
Dakar 2026 will be her most demanding challenge yet, driving a truck in the Classic category, with finishing the rally representing both a sporting and personal triumph.
14. Esther Merino (Mission 1000, Arctic Leopard Galicia Team)
Esther Merino competes in the Mission 1000 category, Dakar’s experimental platform for future technologies. Racing an electric motorcycle, her entry represents the intersection of sustainability, innovation and experience.
With a family deeply rooted in Dakar history, Merino’s 2026 campaign looks forward rather than back, pushing the boundaries of what Dakar might become.
Why the women in Dakar 2026 matter
Women are not competing under a single narrative. Some fight for wins, others for experience, visibility or future development. Together, they reflect how Dakar continues to evolve, not by lowering the bar, but by widening access to the challenge itself.
Different categories, different goals, same desert. And every single one of them earned their place on the start line.
