Miss Dakar, Jutta Kleinschmidt

Dakar Rally 1979

Writing about the Dakar women of 2021 led me into a rabbit hole into the world of Dakar history. I was simply curious to find out who the pioneer of this revolution was and who followed their footsteps. After all, the Dakar Rally simply is a test of grit with a love of the wilderness along with no gender discrimination or bias.

Martine de Cortance

Marie Ertaud

Women have always been up to the challenge, even though their contribution is not highlighted enough. The first edition of the Dakar rally, (then known as the Dakar-Paris Rally) began in 1978 and women began participating from the very next year in 1979. That year was also hailed as the most successful edition in female participation in bikes with 7 brave women, from a total of 90 participants, decided to cross the desert on a motorcycle. The first seven women, all French, were: Martine de Cortanze, Marie Ertaud, Pascale Gueurie, Christine Martin-Lefort, Corinne Koppenhague, Martine Rénier and Marido. Of these daredevil women, Martine de Cortanze took the top spot with 11th overall on bikes and marking the first female finisher on record. Marie Ertaud took the 20th position and Pascale Gueurie completed with the 27th position overall. After this year, they leave the Dakar and return three years later to become the first three women to finish the Dakar in the car category.

Jutta Kleinschmidt at Dakar Rally 2005

Standing on these and many more women’s shoulders is the legendary Miss Dakar - Jutta Kleinschmidt. Jutta was born in Cologne, Germany and grew up in Berchtesgaden. She studied physics and completed her Masters Degree. After working seven years as a development engineer for BMW, she became a professional racer. She raced her first Paris Dakar Rally in 1988 on a BMW motorcycle.Six years later she switched to race cars. In 2001, she became the first woman to win the overall classification at the Dakar Rally. Jutta Kleinschmidt has been the most successful female rally driver ever. 

Jutta Kleinschmidt in the Audi TT at the Nürburgring 24 hours race, 2013

But the beauty of Kleinschmidt’s experience does not lie in her past and how she leverages that for her continued success. Though her past has given her the standing today, she keeps looking into the future of rally raid. She is a constant in every single Dakar race. She watches for new talent, she mentors and she is there to support and guide all women racers. While Kleinschmidt provides inspiration to off-roaders in the Dakar convoy such as Cristina Gutiérrez and Laia Sanz, she's also in touch with ambitious newcomers to show them what's possible. Along with keen eye on Gutiérrez and Sanz from the sidelines, Saudi Arabian racer Dania Akeel was also on Kleinschmidt’s radar in 2021.

Dania Akeel and Jutta Kleinschmidt in the rest day bivouac © JOSÉ MÁRIO DIAS

Kleinschmidt is on top the game. You may not see her on photographs as much during the race but she is where she is needed the most. On the opening stage of the 2021 Dakar, the second edition of the rally held in Saudi Arabia, the race convoy celebrated the victory of Cristina Gutiérrez. After dashing through the 277km stage between Jeddah and Bisha in a winning time of 3h 35m 56s, the Spaniard was met by Kleinschmidt back at the bivouac. This is just the latest example of her Dakar spirit in action. 

Jutta Kleinschmidt - The First female Winner of the Paris-Dakar Rally

Dakar Rally participation and victory is just one of her many achievements. She says with pride that extremes are her passion. She has participated in the Race Across America cycling marathon in 2004. Together with Joey Kelly, she has covered 5,000 kilometers across America in just eight and a half days on a bike. She is also a licensed helicopter pilot since 2004 and has already flown to Africa with her own helicopter. With her background in physics and engineering, she has developed, together with Volkswagen, one of the most successful race cars, the Race Touareg. Since August 2018, she has been working part-time as a senior advisor in the Cross Country Rally for the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile). Today, she works as a Key Note Speaker for well-known companies. She has authored and written a book in German, where she compares her motor sport experience with attaining business success. 

Paulo Duarte/AP/Shutterstock

 

Her life sounds like movie and in true Hollywood fashion, her story is to grace the silver screens in a few years. Amblin Partners has acquired film rights to the her life story as well as rights to her self-penned book - My Victory at Dakar. Hobbs and Shaw director David Leitch and his producing partner Kelly McCormick brought the project to the studio and will produce through their 87North production banners, along with David Kaufmann, who first conceived of the project, under his Devonsheer Media banner.

Jutta Kleinschmidt helps French biker Sara Jugla get upright on the stage © VICTOR ELEUTÉRIO

It has been 20 years since she won the overall championship and there has been no female rally racer to have taken that title since. Additionally, Laia Sanz remains the only female rider to ever score an overall top 10 result in the Bike race which remains the best performance by a woman in Dakar following Kleinschmidt’s victory. Hence, Kleinschmidt’s vision and mission for the future is simple yet complex at the same time. She looks forward to making each female Dakar racer into a champion. She will remain a constant in the world of rally racing showing each female racer the way to victory.