Team Tuesday 2020: Rachelle & Taylor

June 23, 2020

TEAM TUESDAY IS BACK!

We’re celebrating our fifth anniversary this year, and excited to kick off our fifth round of Rebelle Rally Team Tuesdays today! And, it’s only fitting we begin with the 4×4 champs from 2019 who will be back this year to defend their title – Team #100 Rachelle Croft and Taylor Pawley.

Read on for this adventurous (to say the least) team’s recent Q&A with the Rebelle Rally, and look out for them back in the dirt with us this October!

Hometown/Current town:

Rachelle: Missoula, MT/Bozeman, MT

Taylor: Currently Portland, Oregon

Occupation:

Rachelle: Self employed! Co-Founder of Expedition Overland. Cat herder.

Taylor: Marketing Coordinator for my family’s regional fencing and decking company.

What made you compete this year?

Rachelle: Taylor and I made a great team, we had a blast, worked really well together, and can’t wait for round 2! Competing in the Rebelle is one of those outlets that really feed my soul, challenges me, and makes me a better human being!

Taylor: I couldn’t pass up a chance to defend our champion title, but most importantly the Rebelle is my favorite thing I get to do!

How did you and your teammate meet? Why did you choose them?

Rachelle: Taylor and I met in 2016 at the Northwest Overland Rally. I was teaching a class about the Rebelle Rally and my past experiences in Morocco that she attended. We encouraged her to try the Rebelle and she made it happen! I also had the privilege of attending the Rebelle in 2016 when she came in 2nd place having never done anything like it before! We clicked really well together and kept in touch each year after, waiting for the timing to work out for us to be teammates. I’m so glad it did!

Taylor: Teammate: Rachelle and I met at a training for the very first Rebelle that her and her then partner were putting on. We both raced that year, and then continued to stay in touch through our overlanding connections. We tried for 3 years to team up before it finally came together last year! I wanted to race with her because I know she is one of the most competent drivers I’ve ever ridden with, and her personality has just the right combination of serious, “get it done” attitude and so much fun and joy at the same time!

Tell us about your competition vehicle. Why did you choose it to compete in?

Rachelle: We are beyond stoked to get to Rally for Lexus again this year! Last year we drove Stella, a stock Lexus GX 460 which lived up to everything we asked of it, taking us across the finish to first place and a bone stock win! It was a phenomenal, comfortable vehicle that was extremely capable. This year, we will again rally in a Lexus but we can’t tell you which model yet, as it is a surprise. Stay tuned!

Taylor: We’re so happy to be driving a Lexus again this year, more to come on which one!

Any fun facts you’d like to fill us in on?

Rachelle: Mom to 3 awesome boys + black lab fur baby.

Taylor: I took 2nd place in the inaugural race, this will be my 4th Rebelle, and first year with a repeat partner.
Directly following the first Rebelle I started a two year overland journey from Oregon to Uruguay in South America.
The connections I’ve made in the Rebelle have taken me around the world, including helping 1st year Rebelle Samantha Mumford run an all-ladies Billfishing Tournament in Costa Rica for the last two years, traveling overland through Costa Rica on a Women Overlanding the World retreat with 2 time Rebelle Tracy Ristow, giving talks on overlanding at two Ladies Offroad Network Conventions in Salt Lake City and Atlanta with 1st time champion and LON founder Charlene Bower, and rock-crawling the trails of Moab with 100% Rebelle Melissa Fischer!

9TH RALLY EDITION: OCTOBER 10 – 19, 2024