The story of Cristina Gutiérrez is as special as it is unique and, in addition to being one of the references of Spanish motorsport, she will become one of the drivers who will be part of the new Dacia project for the 2025 Dakar Rally. The driver from Burgos will make the leap from the Challenger category to Ultimate with the aim of making the manufacturer successful, and will have two motor racing legends such as Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al Attiyah on the same team.
Motorsport.com met her during the toughest race in the world in Saudi Arabia and talked to her about what moving to the elite meant for her, about sharing the team with the Frenchman and the Qatari, about women in competitions and much more even more.
Looking to 2025, will you be with Dacia, how do you see the project and how will you approach it?
“Dacia excites me a lot. I think that in March the tests will begin in France and then in Morocco, and immediately after there will be the first official race, which will be in Morocco in October, so I am very happy, because I will be with great drivers like Nasser [Al Attiyah] and Seb [Loeb]. I will have fun, I will learn and I can't wait to give my best with them.”
That's what I wanted to talk about, the riders: what's it like sharing a team with legends like Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al Attiyah?
“The first time they told me about the project, they told me about Seb, and it was already incredible, because I had the opportunity to work with him in Extreme E, and I spent two fantastic years with him. He is a very open and when he has to explain something to you he doesn't keep anything to himself, he is very kind to me, we get along very well and he is very attentive to my steps and what I do, so I can consider him a sports father.”
“Months went by and they told us there would be a third driver, one of the best. They didn't tell me which one, but when they told me it would be Al Attiyah, I thought: 'Really?' and I felt like the ham in the sandwich between the two great drivers. They are the two best drivers on the grid at the moment and to have them on the same team is incredible.”
Dacia is a winning project. Do you see Cristina Gutiérrez winning the Dakar?
“Winning the Dakar is a very, very big word, because there are great riders like Seb, who have been trying for eight years and haven't succeeded yet, but it's true that you dream big, and I have to dream realistically. The first year we'll have to see how it goes, it's a long-term project, so it gives me the peace of mind of not having to bang my head against the table, but what I'll do is go and have fun, give everything and see what results can come out, but I think that we can be there because it is a 100% leading machine.”
Audi won't be there next year, do you see Carlos Sainz participating in the Dakar with another team?
“I see Carlos [Sainz] as irreplaceable, I see him, in one way or another, involved in the Dakar, because it is part of his life, and if he is not competing, as a team manager or influencing in some direct way the preparation of another car, but it is a person who is 100% competitive, who works 100% of his time and I hope he continues to compete.”
One of the things I noticed is that she wears a completely customized and tailored racing suit, with proportions for her body that are usually different from those of a racer. What is the relationship like with Sparco and what products would you highlight?
“We worked with Sparco throughout the entire Junior Team project [della Red Bull], because we have an agreement with them, and the truth is that I am very happy, because the racing suits are tailor-made. Every year they always evolve the type of fabric, the clothing, with thin materials and others that are more resistant, and especially the underwear is very thin, which is great for the heat.”
Photo by: ASO
#302 Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BF Goodrich: Cristina Gutierrez Herrero
“They also developed boots that, for us drivers, are incredible, because we have to have a lot of foot contact with the accelerator and the brake, to have sensitivity, and they made the boots like socks, so they are very close to the leg. sand goes in, it's very comfortable, and I remember that before everything went in, so there was a block of sand. It's true that they listen to us a lot when they tell us that they want to develop a better product, they are always very open and practically all the best pilots I'm there today.”
Motor racing is a male-dominated sport in terms of numbers, and Cristina Gutiérrez is one of the female representatives. Do you see the responsibility of being one of the visible faces of a movement?
“I don't know if I think so, I believe that all of us are responsible for the evolution of society in this sense, and I think it is important that there are female figures who fight on equal conditions. It is a sport that has no equal in the sense of “equality, there are very few sports in which both men and women compete in the same category, and we must give value to this sport because it allows us to do so.”
“It is important to give this visibility to show other women that they are not afraid to try, or that it seems strange for a woman to enter, because I remember that at the beginning, when I arrived, there were female figures at the time, and I they were like, 'Look at the girl, how beautiful', and now it's like it's something more normal, you see more girls in all kinds of disciplines, pilots, co-pilots, engineers, mechanics, logistics, everything.”
“It's considered more normal and the most important thing is that, for future generations, when they have to doubt that they can do it, they don't have to doubt that they can do it.”
If it were up to Cristina Gutiérrez, as if she were some sort of president, what would she do to improve and get more women interested in motorsport?
“It helped me a lot, and is helping me a lot, for example, when I was 25 or so, I was competing in the Spanish championship, and it was like a sort of women's campus, which doesn't necessarily have to be that, but that edition was, and it gave us the opportunity to experience the world of motorsport in a more professional way. They taught very important figures, like Jutta or Patricia Pons, so I saw it as achievable and I think this helped me a lot to trust myself and do the I'm jumping to the Dakar”.
“I also think that some things are being done in Spain that we should valorise, such as the campus that Pelarda organizes with the Spanish federation, and which helps women and men to enter the discipline, not only in rally-raids, but also in rallies, and I think that making this union, and being seen within the industry, with visits like mine or that of my co-driver, Pablo Moreno, as well as other great motorsport figures who go to give lessons with people, brings us very close and encourage actions of this type to ensure that more people access this discipline.”
Joan Barreda did a good reflection after abandoning, not knowing if it will be his last Dakar Rally, and said he continued with his same style even if it made him lose. Do you share this opinion?
“I understand that in the end one has his essence, his goal and his concentration. It is true that I share the opinion that no one should make you doubt yourself, and that if you have reached that point, as happened to Joan Barreda , who is one of the best runners, who had confidence in himself and didn't get carried away by comments or “I would do it like this”, you would stop being yourself.”
“You wouldn't run the same way, with what you were born with. I'm a lot like what you were born with, and that's what I share.”
Finally, what does Cristina Gutiérrez think about when she wakes up?
“At breakfast [ride]. I wake up thinking about the next day's stage, I'm not very complicated, I have breakfast, brush my teeth and move on.”
#Dakar #Gutierrez #I39ll #secrets #Sparco #boots
