As the Rebelle Rally celebrates its 10th year, BMW North America celebrates its 50th and the team progresses from the X2 and X3 to the X5 for its 3rd year competing in the rally with Donaghe as driver. Dalski has been an advocate of the Rebelle since 2016 when BMW supplied an X5 to the founder, Emily Miller, for pre-running the course of the inaugural rally. The team talked about what this year means to BMW and what it would mean to have someone from the manufacturer/brand step into the hot seat. It seemed perfect timing and appropriate that Dalski, Sr Product Specialist for the X5, join Donaghe as a rookie to experience this ultimate test of the vehicle firsthand. With so much to learn, train and hard work to get to the start line, this opportunity has been a labor of love for the Rebeccas and so many team members at BMW NA and it’s incredibly exciting. Team R2D2 is ready to step up to the challenge!
BMW of North America, BMW Performance Driving School, BMW Car Club of America, BMW CCA X Chapter, BMW Cards, BMW Ultimate Protection, XPEL, Thule, Falken Tire, Rotiform, Morimoto Automotive Lighting, Dura Architectural Signage
Award-winning Producer, Advertising Content, Freelance. My job means I get to play for a living with some of the most motivated, highly-skilled, creative craftspeople. I have produced all around the world from small expedition style adventure shoots off-grid in the middle of nowhere to massive union productions taking over New York City streets, from line-drawn animation to high-flying live action stunts. My job constantly puts me in a position to learn, to adapt, to find solutions, to follow a vision and to lead. It's exhausting and exhilarating and almost never dull. But most importantly to me, I work in short, intense periods which allow me time to adventure outside of work and explore the world on my terms between projects.
Marina Del Rey, CA
Texas A&M BBA Accounting, Yale School of Management MBA Competitive Strategy & Organizational Behavior
"Life is short, cram it."
I lived in Buenos Aires for a month to learn to tango. Worked with 3 different instructors, danced 8-10 hours a day, left with 12 pairs of Commé il Faut designer tango shoes, 1 of which danced in every milonga in the city.
I'm addicted, apparently. It's transformative. I am always excited to meet whoever I am on the other side of each Rebelle.
My dad: To do things that just make me happy. My mom: To do things that I can brag about. The fears that stop me in my tracks: To do things that make me face them and claim that power back.
Ottolenghi cookbooks, Steinbeck novels, Shakespeare plays
Toss up between 12 days riding across Mongolia on a 50cc mini motorbike and 6 days paddling down the Peruvian Amazon River in a 2-person 450lb wooden canoe.
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024
This year I have the opportunity to witness my teammate experience her very first Rebelle and see it through her eyes as a rookie. My goal is to be a great partner throughout prep and the rally and help create for all 3 teammates that epic adventure that brought me to my first one. And as always, have fun and do our best. Those 2 goals create the best results.
Endurance adventures aka sufferfests (and maybe proving it can be done in inappropriate or challenging transportation). Growth through adventure. From solo driving a RHD Japanese van across the US for 16 days on dirt and 2-lane backroads, to riding a pit bike across Morocco for 7 days or walking across Portugal for 11 days, to sailing an historic 1911 wooden ship across the Atlantic for 12 days, to navigating the NORRA 1000 in a VW bug for 6 days using only roadbooks and no chase crew, anything that could absolutely be done an easier way, I'm more interested in doing it the hard way.
No background in motorsports before the Rebelle. Just saw it as an opportunity for an epic adventure and jumped in. The Rebelle has become a gateway to other rallies and other incredible adventures for me. But more than a motorsport, I still approach the Rebelle as an epic life adventure, and it never fails to deliver.
Competed in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles in Morocco, Rally Jameel in Saudi Arabia and NORRA 1000 in Baja Mexico. Driving across Colombia, Morocco, Alaska, Spain, France, England, Scotland, Ireland and the US several times. Backpacking throughout Europe. Crossing the Andes, Pyrenees, Portugal and Eastern Spain on foot. Surfing in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, California and Hawaii. Dune surfing in Bolivia. Volunteer for Life Rolls On organization, taking adaptive athletes and kids with various disabilities surfing on the California coast. White water rafting in California and Austria. Canyoneering in Austria. Rock climbing in Joshua Tree, CA and Steinwald, Germany. Sky diving in Texas and Oaxaca. Hanging off the top of the 2nd tallest building in the world in Toronto. Salmon fishing from a floatplane in Alaska. Fly fishing in Colorado. Net fishing in the Caribbean and Lake Titicaca, Peru. Deep sea fishing in Gulf of Mexico and Pacific. Swam with dolphins, beluga whales and stingrays. Sailing the entire coast of California, Sea of Cortes, Adriatic Sea, Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. Regularly race out of Marina del Rey with a sailing team on a Transpac 52. Solo traveling to Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Panama, Puerto Rico, Morocco, France, Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, S Korea, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, several cities/states in Mexico including Guadalajara for the International Mariachi Festival and Tequila to sleep in an agave field in a giant wine barrel.
While the rest of the course each year has taken my breath away, the dunes are the most thrilling for me. The dunes are a giant sandbox that I love and hate with a confused passion. They are ever changing, not a single experience has been a repeat. When it's a good day and you're in the zone, it's incredible. When it's a bad day and you just can't get it together, it's incredibly devastating. There's no better test, no better smack in the face, no better top-of-the-world reward.
The most challenging part of the Rebelle for me are the lessons that keep coming at you that you haven't managed to learn yet. It's relentlessly going to shove you back into a situation in which you have to face your own shortcomings and grow out of them or continue to suffer them again and again. May sound woo-woo, but it's way harder to admit your failings, your stubborn weaknesses, than it is to change a tire in the dirt or dig yourself out of a bowl in the dunes in 114 degree heat.
The Rebelle has given me the ability to love mistakes. To love the idea of not being perfect and being able to learn from and correct mistakes with confidence, not judgment. The Rebelle is my practice for the ability to move forward with incomplete information without hesitation, course correct with new information without dwelling on prior decisions, recover quickly from mistakes without blame or judgment, appreciate both the highs and the lows that are inevitable without losing perspective. And those are transferable skills to every other part of life, work and relationships.
My dad and my stepfather both taught me to work on my own car maintenance. Gave me enough confidence to understand the basics and how to listen to a vehicle and communicate issues. I learned how to drive in a manual truck on a ranch, so I was driving offroad and knew how to shift before I knew how to make a proper left turn on pavement. I never thought it would be something I would do as a hobby much later in life.
Full time working mom of two toddler boys. I’m the Product Manager for Large X vehicles (X5, X6, X7 and M vehicles) shaping the US product line which is the reason both the X5 and I are rallying in 2025.
Cos Cob, Ct
Christopher Newport University, Political Science
""A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," by Lao Tzu"
I have a natural talent for ping pong.
I’ve been an advocate for the Rebelle within the BMW Group for a decade. This years vehicle entry falls within my area of responsibilities. When asked if I’d be interested to represent the brand, I couldn’t imagine not being part of R2D2. What an adventure!
Competition and seeing people accomplish their goals.
Crime junkies
Hotel Matze
Zeit Verbrechen
The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
I love historical fiction and a decent crime novel
Raising my two boys
I’m in it for the adventure, incredible people and their stories, growth opportunity and life skills learned. It’s already been a journey with so many lessons learned; can’t wait to reflect after this phenomenal accomplishment is in the books.
I love a good book in a cozy location, yoga and anything else that drowns out the noise. Running after toddlers keeps me busy but who doesn’t love a nature walk with eyes that have not yet seen it all.
16 year within the BMW Group has given me some access to tracks and incredibly fast vehicles but for off- roading, I’m a first timer. RebelleU, my team partner and Nina Barlow have shaped my ability to navigate through various terrains, or recover from it.
I’ve lived in Germany, England and the US which instilled the need to travel, hear and see different cultures. It might be finding a hidden island on the Bosphoros, backpacking through Iceland aiming to find the last fish shop on the ring road or teaching the kids how to snorkel in the keys. As long as it’s real it’s a memory logged you can’t replace.
My dad has always worked on cars and had several “project” in our garage at any point in time and would allow us to observe the process made. Unless it was Christmas but we soon realized the trunk of the BMW 2002 had the Christmas presents hidden!
