‘Full steam ahead’ for rally driver’s race of a lifetime

Inaugural Extreme E champion Molly Taylor barely has time to wash the British mud out of her hair before she’ll take on the Dakar Rally.  

The 33-year-old and teammate Johan Kristoffersson were so caked in the stuff after leaping into the mire at Bovington Camp that the team logos on their Rosberg X Racing kit – founded by F1 champion Nico – were barely visible.  

Now the newly-crowned champion has just two weeks to adjust from Dorset to desert as she prepares for her lifelong-dream debut in the legendary rally with South Racing Can-Am on 2 January.   

“[Extreme E] has been massive for me,” said Taylor. “To be able to be fighting for the championship in a competition of this level, with [this] calibre of drivers, is unlike everything I’ve ever experienced before.  This is something I couldn’t have dreamed of two years ago.”  

Extreme E founder and CEO Alejandro Agag described his first female champion as “the reference” for the series’ other women, adding, “I think they were all looking to Molly.” 

But Taylor readily admitted her Dakar experience is likelier to be an experiment than an exemplar.  

“I don’t really know what to expect,” admitted the Australian, who is spending Christmas week in Dubai before flying to Saudi Arabia for the 12-stage, 8375km cross-country race.   

“Everyone says it’s a huge challenge, mentally, physically, on every part,” said the third-generation rally driver.  

“People say you need to go in with a goal in your first year. You go in with a goal to win or to finish but you can’t do both. For us, we need to just try to get through the first week and see where we’re at and see what it’s all about.  

“And then we’ll be able to better judge what we need to do for the second week. I mean, it’s the first one so we just need to take the experience and who knows?”  

Taylor and co-driver Dale Moscatt’s two-week adventure will see them begin in Jeddah, navigating a route crossing sand dunes before passing through the capital, Riyadh, for a rest stop.   

open image in gallery

It’s familiar territory for Taylor, who won Extreme E’s maiden race, the Desert X Prix, in Saudi Arabia in April.  

And ‘who knows?’ could be a mantra for the first season of the climate change awareness-raising, net-zero SUV series. Covid-related challenges to its five-race calendar in 2021 included a relocation of the finale from Patagonia – itself a replacement for a Nepal stop – to Dorset.   

But no matter where Taylor has touched down, she’s found willing mentors in the Extreme E paddock.   

RXR were locked into a trophy battle with Lewis Hamilton’s x44 team throughout a season that came down to the last lap, but Taylor’s rally rivals were still happy to chat Dakar with the debutant.   

Last January, 30-year-old Cristina Gutierrez became the first woman in 16 years to win a stage in the rally, while nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb has finished on the podium twice.   

They’ll join three-time Dakar champion Carlos Sainz, whose team ACCIONA finished sixth in Extreme E, and ABT Cupra XE’s Mattias Ekstrom, both representing Audi Sport. 

“The biggest thing when you speak to anyone is that Dakar is really long,” said Taylor, laughing.   

“[As opposed to Extreme E] you need to be a bit more patient and think about the big game and judge that speed versus getting the navigation right, versus looking after the car and being able to keep it going for two weeks.   

“That is a very different challenge.”  

RXR hasn’t confirmed its driver line-up for season two, beginning February in Saudi Arabia. The sophomore edition will also see McLaren join the grid with New Zealander Emma Gilmour, becoming the team’s first-ever female driver.   

And whatever the first woman to win Extreme E decides to do in 2022, she’s grateful for the doors it’s opened for her—and the prep it’s provided for Dakar.  

“The first step in all that was competing in Extreme E,” said Taylor. “I think they really complement each other, so it’s great to be able to do.”  

The trophy is packed away and the tyres power-washed of the Bovington bog.

Now, she added: “It’s full steam ahead to Dakar, and [I’m] really looking forward to that challenge.”