“Competing against the best drivers in the world”
CREW FACTS…
C.G.
- Cristina Gutiérrez is making her debut in rally-raid's top division on the strength of winning the last Dakar in the Challenger category. The driver from Burgos made history by becoming only the second woman to win the Dakar after Jutta Kleinschmidt's overall victory in 2001.
- Dacia has chosen her to be part of its line-up alongside two of the sport's biggest stars: Sébastien Loeb (nine-time world rally champion) and Nasser Al Attiyah (five-time Dakar Rally winner).
- Since her debut in the world's most challenging rally raid in 2017, when she made history by becoming the first Spanish driver to reach the finish line, her resume has grown: 2021 Cross Country World Champion in the T3 category; Extreme E champion alongside Loeb (in seven times F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton's team), World Championship and Dakar podiums in 2022 and the aforementioned victory last January.
- Passionate about motor racing since she was a child, she is affectionately nicknamed ‘Tortu’ due to her love of turtles and, in fact, she always has one on her helmet. Between races, she is a dentist in a private clinic.
P.M.H
- The Spanish co-driver is a seasoned mechanic who has worked with Gutiérrez for years. Last January, he won the Dakar in the Challenger category alongside the driver from Burgos.
- He always dreamed of competing in the world's most challenging rally, and in 2025, he will take part in his fifth edition, the first in a top-level car.
- Over the past year with the Dacia Sandriders team, he has worked with two of the best co-drivers in the sport, Fabien Lurquin and Edouard Boulanger. He also co-drove for Al Attiyah in Qatar last November.
- In his limited free time between the atelier and the races, he enjoys walking his dog and rock climbing.
AMBITIONS 2025
C.G.: “Winning my first Dakar in the Challenger category was incredible, probably the best moment of my sporting career, and it was hard to assimilate. But I enjoyed it with all my family and extraordinary people. I am making the jump to the big cars this year with Dacia, and for me, it means fulfilling a dream and having the opportunity to establish myself in the discipline. I will fight for it because if we work with the team, we can be very competitive, and I want to repay their trust in me.”
“It's been a few months of hard work, but very productive, where we have put in a lot of kilometres. We showed in Morocco that we could be among the front runners, which was very important for us, but I am also aware that I still have much to learn. It isn't easy to talk about objectives in our first Dakar in T1+, but in these months, we have seen that we have a great car with which we can compete head-to-head with the best drivers in the world. Therefore, our goal has to be to do a good job, feel competitive, help the team get its first Touareg, and, above all, enjoy the moment.”
P. M. H.: “To be honest, winning the Dakar in the Challenger was unexpected, and if I stop to think about it, I'm still surprised. But nothing has changed; I'm still the same. We came back on a Saturday, greeted by family, friends and the media, and on Sunday at seven in the morning, I was already back at work in the atelier. We are delighted to have the opportunity to team up with the idols and references of this discipline. Working with them has been spectacular, and they have helped us a lot.”
“To compete with a T1+ is a dream come true. We will give everything so the team can win with any of the cars. I want to thank Cris for counting on me to return to be by her side two years ago and Red Bull and Dacia for betting on us without hesitation and showing that we juniors can do the job like the veterans.”
