The fact went unnoticed even by the protagonist herself: of the 166 cars that competed in the Dakar 2023, Cristina Gutiérrez was the first Spanish participant in the final classification, 30th overall and 4th in the T3 category. A heroic act that this pilot and dentist from Burgos living in Barcelona “had no idea” about, who in this edition of the legendary rally will seek to make history: she wants to be the first Spaniard to win behind the wheel, in the Challenger T3 category (light vehicles , step prior to cars T1 and T2).
–I would love to win the category. I never set surreal goals, it will be my fourth year in T3 and I have always seen myself at the top, I know what I can do and that I have a chance to win... if the Dakar respects you – Gutiérrez comments prudently, who wants to say goodbye to T3 through the door big before embarking on his great challenge as a professional driver next year: driving an official car of the highest category, the T1, with Dacia, along with two monsters like Nasser al Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb, his godfather since he met her in 2020.
-Is incredible. The Dacia thing is super exciting, having Séb [Sébastien Loeb] as a partner. And when they told me that Nasser [Al Attiyah] was joining the project, it was the best: Me in the middle of these two! I'm going to be the ham in the sandwich. Very happy to be able to learn and extract incredible things from them, because they have a lot of experience. Nasser may be the best rally-raid driver of all time, and Séb was the best of WRC rallies.
Indeed, Gutiérrez can feel privileged, surely the rally-raid driver in a more competitive position, with the immediate future more on track. It is the result of her 13 years of career (since 2010), in which she has scored an FIA cross-country World Cup, she has been the first Spaniard to finish the Dakar by car (2017), the first to achieve a stage victory (2021, in SSV) and the first to get on the final podium (3rd in T3 in 2022).
If her record highlights her as the best woman in rally-raids, her signing for Dacia confirms it.
–It doesn't mean that I'm the best, but I'm one of those who has been in cars the longest –she plays down the importance–. The Extreme E has opened many doors by making us visible, now they watch your times and that helps. There are many women embarking on very cool projects: Laia Sanz has a lot of experience, and will probably move up to a T1 soon, Sara Price races in T4 and the Saudi Dania Akeel in T3 Challenger is also very strong – Gutiérrez defends the increasingly noticeable female presence in the Dakar, this year with 46 women.
Cristina does not consider herself a quota in a team with two giants like Loeb and Al Attiyah.
–If a man can be there, so can a woman. Dacia wanted to support women. I am not a quota, it is the fruit of all the work I have been doing these years, I have been fast and I have proven it. Then Séb broke ground in my favor on the Dacia project; She knows what she thinks of me, that I am very professional and hard-working, and she liked that – admits Gutiérrez, grateful for being Loeb's protection.
It was like a crush. The nine-time world rally champion discovered her in the first Extreme E test. But before, that summer of 2020, Gutiérrez went all out: the pandemic left her without sponsors, she had to give up the Dakar 2021 and her race was fading...
–I wanted to run the Andalucía Rally, and to do so I had to take out a loan of 60,000 euros to buy a Mini. It was very hard. It ruined me if it went wrong. It was an investment to bet on myself, it was an opportunity that could change my life.
And it changed her. She was 8th overall and 4th in the first scratch, and caught the attention of Lewis Hamilton's manager, who managed an Extreme E team: they were interested in partnering with Loeb in the mixed team of the car championship. electric TTs. “I was shocked,” says Cristina. Her leadership captivated Loeb, who did not hesitate to adopt her as his goddaughter.
–He seemed like a supernatural person to me, very close. He gave me advice as if he were a father, he didn't hold anything back. He asked me what he would do for the Dakar, I told him I wouldn't go, and he called Red Bull to join the Junior Team.
Gutiérrez did the rest: she managed to be selected among the ten best young drivers in the world, earned a place on the team and won the first stage. And he didn't stop growing...
