Welcome to the Squirrelly Ditch Racing Team Rebelle Rally Fundraiser

The Challenge

We are embarking on an epic off-road adventure rally: the 2023 Rebelle Rally. Over eight days in October, we will drive 1,500 miles from checkpoint to checkpoint on back roads, through sand dunes and on unmarked trails in the desert. This is a navigation challenge, and we are only allowed maps and a compass to plan and execute our route from Mammoth Mountain to San Diego via Nevada and Arizona. The competition will test our driving, navigating, precision, teamwork, creativity, endurance and grit. You’ll get to follow along via web updates each day during the race. Many teams that compete are sponsored by car manufacturers, but we want to go out there on our own muscle and the support of our community.

Who We Are

Claire McKenna and Sarah Vitak are co-drivers and adventure partners. They met at a Groundhog Day party in Boston in 2018 and have been re-living that day ever since. They were friends for several years when they began racing rallycross in the Colorado Front Range. After her first race, Claire bought and rebuilt a 1999 Subaru Impreza (shout out to Dan). This car became their gateway to outdoor adventure on four wheels, tearing up the dirt course at races and winding down remote roads to sleep under the stars.

Sarah and Claire come to the Rebelle Rally equipped to share the opportunity to both drive and navigate.

Sarah is a recovering scientist turned science journalist and podcast producer. She has written and produced audio for Scientific American, Nature, America’s Test Kitchen, Outside, and Wondery, just to name a few. In her free time you can find her going on outdoor adventures or tinkering in a makerspace to bring interactive art installations to life. Her creative practice is focused on the intersection of technology, art, and human interaction.

Claire is an engineer currently working on her PhD at the University of Michigan. When she needs a break from mulling over how to foster socially just climate change policy, she dreams of one day owning a neighborhood coffee shop where her rally racing metals hang on the walls. She remains committed to living like there is enough time to do everything, with the urgency of mastering as much as possible before she goes.

Three reasons to support us:

- Give us the chance to learn adventure racing, navigation, and off-road driving in an all-female environment

- Support our commitment to learning and growing as people through this extraordinary experience in the desert

- Pay it forward for that time someone supported you to do something incredible

Levels of Support

Race Budget

We need to raise $15,000 to make our adventure possible. Our total cost to participate in the event is $22,990. We will get our truck off-road ready, drive it to the event, participate in navigation training, and purchase specialty equipment.

Other Ways You Can Help

Follow us @squirrellyditchracing on instagram and share our story with your friends and family!

Are you an off-roading expert that can show us ropes? Or have SNELL helmets to spare? We love to learn from our community wherever possible and happily accept donations of hand-me-down equipment to reduce cost and the environmental impact of buying new gear.

Mileage or points for travel could also go a long way to help us get from Michigan and Colorado to the event on the West Coast.

Sponsor Us: Do you know anyone at a company or organization that might want to sponsor us? Put us in contact or share our sponsorship deck with them!

More Information

Event website

https://www.rebellerally.com/

Read about the teams from last year

https://www.forbes.com/wheels/features/2021-rebelle-rally-vehicles-women/

Amazon wish list:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/EZ82EHHGBSOO?ref_=wl_share

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/squirrellyditchracing

Rebelle Rally 2023

By Claire McKenna

Rebelle Rally 2023

Sarah and Claire are gearing up for the off-road adventure of a lifetime!

Team Members