Cristina Gutiérrez, the Sandrider: meet the woman in Dacia Dakar Rally team

It was about cars. Rallies. And women in motorsport. Of course I had to be there, to see the car that Dacia will send to Dakar Rally in 2025 and to meet the team – 3 pilots & 3 co-pilots, aiming for the podium in one of the most loved (and followed) rally in the world: Dakar Rally.  And of course I had to have and interview (short, funny and relaxed) with Cristina Gutiérrez, one of the pilots that will ride the dunes with one of the Dacia Sandriders. Meet the woman in Dacia Dakar Rally team!

More info about the Dakar rally & Dacia on www.dakar.com, www.dacia.ro 
Keep up with the adventures on @dacia_romania / @the_dacia_sandriders 
Follow Cristina Gutiérrez and her adventures in motorsport on Instagram – @cris_tortu / @dakarrally

You signed with Dacia for Dakar Rally 2025. How is this feeling? 

It was a special moment for me that one. They asked me if I want to be part of Dacia team and of course I said YES! It was like my dream came true. Especially with Sébastien Loeb (whom I compete with in Extreme E and I knew him and have a good relationship) and Nasser Al-Attiyah as my colleagues. I was super happy to have the opportunity. They helped me to integrate into the team and they are so nice persons! 

You have started to race since you are a kid. What was the most important advice you have recieved when you started to compete as professional rally driver? 

To believe. To believe in yourself, in your skills, in your feelings no matter what people would say (that you’re doing good or that you’re doing wrong). To follow your passion. And to try to be the best in your car. 

What are your expectations for Dakar Rally 2025?

To be on the podium. To do our best. 

A rally is a long, long ride – for days, for weeks. What do you miss most in these days? 

The food (laughs). I like Spanish food a lot, so rich and diverse. But, you know, when you are in a competition in the middle of the desert, the food is quite plain and similar every day – pasta and chicken and rice and tuna. I missed the food. 

Do you have any superstitions before a race? 

No! (laughs) I go in the car and that’s it: I go. 

Lewis Hamilton (the F1 driver) once said in an interview that he doesn’t like to drive on normal roads. How about you? 

I love to drive! In any car, on any motorbike. I love the engines, I have always loved them, I love the motorsport. And it doesn’t matter if it is a road, a circuit, a motorway, and offroad track. 

If it wasn’t for rallies, what other sports would you like practice? What sports do you practice?

I love everything its outdoor, Dacia style (she smiles). I love to go by bicycle, to ski, to go to play paddle, or tennis. I love the mountains! 

Pilot or copilot? Driver! 

Extreme E or Dakar? Dakar. 

F1 or Nascar? F1. 

Sneakers of high heels? Sneakers. 

Chocolate or French fries? Chocolate, for sure!

* Starting from 2025, Dacia will engage as a constructor in the Dakar Rally within the world rally raid championship. The Dakar Rally has a history of more than 40 years and brings together more than 500 competitors from 60 countries.

* The teams Dacia Sandriders for Dakar rally 2025 are: Nasser Al-Attiyah/Édouard Boulanger, Cristina Gutiérrez/Pablo Moreno, Sébastien Loeb/Fabian Lurquin. Sébastien Loeb is an world champion in 9 consecutive editions in specialist competitions, Nasser Al-Attiyah is five-time winner of the off-road World Rally Cup. 

* Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero is 32 years old, from Spain. She is the first female rally driver from Spain to finish the Dakar Rally in the car category, in 2017. Cristina won the T3 category in the 2021 Rally-Raid World Cup competition and has participated in the Dakar Rally 8 times since 2017. Her co-driver for the Dakar Rally 2025 in the Dacia team will be Pablo Moreno Huete.

Photography: (c) Dacia, www.dreamingof.net.