“I want to be the first American female to win the Dakar”
En bref
S.P.
- Sara Price will be making her third Dakar appearance in 2026 with the ambitious Defender team, who are looking to shake things up in the revamped Stock category.
- The 33-year-old American made an impressive Dakar debut alongside Jeremy Gray in 2024, finishing fourth overall in the SSVs and winning Stage 10. That made her just the third woman (and first American woman) to notch a Dakar stage victory in a class, after Germany's Jutta Kleinschmidt (overall win in 2001) and Spain's Cristina Gutierrez.
- At Dakar 2025, with current co-driver Sean Berriman, Sara had a mechanical that took her out of overall contention on Stage 2, but roared back to claim three stage wins in her Can-Am Maverick R.
- Sara started riding dirtbikes at the age of eight and went on to become a trailblazer on the domestic and international motorsport scene. She won 17 national amateur titles in motocross and secured a bronze medal in Super X at the 2010 X Games.
- In 2012, she switched from two wheels to four and continued to enjoy regular success. In 2019, she became the first woman to win the SCORE International Trophy Truck Spec Championship while also IronWomaning the Baja 1000, staying behind the wheel for over 19 straight hours! She was also the first female to join Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021, winning her first Extreme E race for the team in 2022.
- Her remarkable CV includes victories at the California 300, Mint 400, Baja 500 and the Sonora Rally, part of her Road to Dakar triumph in 2023. She is also the owner of her own offroad racing team, SP Motorsports.
- Sara is a professional stunt woman who has done extensive work in television and film. Her credits include the movie Jumanji: The Next Level and the music video for the Lady Gaga song John Wayne.
- Along with her partner, two-time Dakar winner Ricky Brabec, Sara runs the Rip & Dip Ranch, an exclusive action sports compound.
S.B.
- Sean Berriman is a skilled mechanic and navigator who is gearing up for his seventh competitive outing at the Dakar. He won Dakar 2020 as a co-driver for Casey Currie in the SSVs.
- Sean was born in South Africa in 1992 but moved to the United States with his parents in 1998. His father used to race dirtbikes with Neil Woolridge, a national champion who set up a renowned manufacturer of cross-country race cars, Neil Woolridge Motorsport. Sean worked there for three years after high school (2011-2014) and was inspired to pursue a career in the offroad racing industry. When he returned to the USA he began working as a mechanic for Trophy Truck star Bryce Menzies, a job he still does to this day.
- Sean got his first taste of the Dakar in 2014, working as a mechanic at the bivouac, then had quite the adventure with Team Boucou at Dakar 2015. Originally an onboard mechanic for Jordi Ginesta, he was forced to switch to the navigator's seat when Jordi broke his back and Alberto Herrero took over driving duties. Not only did Sean have to learn navigation overnight, he also had to do it in Spanish!
- After several more Dakar outings in a South Racing fast assistance truck, team boss Scott Abraham gave Sean the opportunity to do more navigation, and he had a dream debut with his buddy Casey in 2020. Technically they were the second Americans to win the Dakar, a few hours after Ricky Brabec, although Sean jokes that with one of the bike stages being cancelled that year, they were the only ones to complete the entire route.
- Sean's background makes him an invaluable wingman out on the track. During Dakar 2020, he needed just eight minutes to change a broken axle, while other 'MacGyver' moments include using a shoelace to manage a broken throttle and improvising an exhaust with old soup cans.
Ambition
S.P.: “My friends and family are beyond excited for this new adventure with Defender. Everyone is so hyped for me because they see how hard I work. They're like, this is your moment. When I started this journey, it was a bit like putting all the eggs in one basket, but now it's really happening. It's a whole new experience because the Defender infrastructure is huge. You'd think in such a big company the passion would be lost but it's the complete opposite. They all know their stuff and work really hard, although my dad is always checking up on them! (laughs). We want to put Defender on top and make their presence felt. And I want to win! I want to be the first American female to win the Dakar, like Ricky was the first male. But obviously you have to be humble. You have to do the best you can and deal with everything that’s thrown at you. Good navigation and working well with Sean is key, to make sure our vehicle makes it to the end. I absolutely love the car, it's amazing. I was blown away because I didn't think it would be this capable. One thing we were nervous about was the dunes, because it's heavier than other cars, but we went testing in Morocco and killed it. It's also been amazing to work with a Dakar legend like Stephane. He has the same background as me, in motorcycles, so we relate a lot. Then there's Rokas, who's like a young kid. He has so much energy and brings a whole other pizazz, plus he sends it really hard! I feel like I'm somewhere in the middle (laughs). Defender don't expect to be battling with the top Ultimates, but they think we'll be the second-fastest class. Stock vehicles have been quite slow in the past, but they've revised the rulebook so the cars now have a lot more capabilities.”
S.B.: “It kind of sucked to win Dakar in 2020. We had plans to do a ton of stuff afterwards but then Covid hit, so there were no follow-ups. But I always knew I'd come back. Sara and I did the Sonora Rally in Mexico a few years ago. I already knew her through Trophy Truck and desert racing, because the US offroad industry is a pretty small-knit community. Once she started getting into Dakar adventures, she asked me to nav for her. She wanted me to join her in 2024, but I couldn't come because my daughter was being born, so we linked up at Dakar 2025. There aren't many navigators out there, and American drivers often try to get an American navigator. Even if you take away all the racing and navigation, that person is still in the car with you for hours on end, so you need to be able to have conversations, make jokes, mess around. And now we've got this Defender programme. It's cool to be part of a legit factory team and to see what their plans are, how much money, time and effort goes into it. They're doing it the right way, getting everyone as involved as possible. It's pretty cool to have a big name like Stephane with us, and to be part of the project from the beginning. We don't know exactly what the modified Stock class will be like. We have the same speed limit as the Ultimates, so I'm interested to see how it goes in the dunes. In the straight line stuff they will be faster, but the technical stuff should be about the same. We honestly have no idea what's coming.”
