Get up to speed with how Cristina Gutiérrez won the Dakar Rally

Cristina Gutiérrez: It was an unbelievable moment. When I finished, I thought we finished in second place, which is also a good position. Then I saw a friend from us from Spain at the finish, and he was doing something with his hand: ‘Go, go, go, you can win.’ I didn’t understand. I was surprised to see everyone screaming and shouting that maybe I could win. I felt a bit of pain for Mitch [Guthrie Jr], but also happiness - because for me, a dream come true. It was an amazing moment I will never forget about in my life.

I didn’t call anyone yet (laughs). But I’ll reach out in my family chat group because everybody is going crazy. I just read some messages - they were following the race and commenting, ‘Whoa, maybe Cris can win… she is 20 seconds ahead…’ - so the first call is going to be my family, for sure!

I think every stage was crazy, especially the marathon one. It was 48 hours through the dunes. But we won this stage as well. We felt comfortable as a team from the beginning, also in the car. I think that was very important. We felt really supported. I think that’s the most important thing – if you feel the support behind you, you can be stronger and more determined when driving.

I don’t know if I’m stronger – the only thing is that I’m the person who fights to the finish. In the world of motorsports, I started very small – I tried everything to get to Dakar. I was fighting for support, and I had to fight for sponsors. At my first Dakar race, the only goal was to finish. I spent a lot of time in the car – all the nights, I always fought until the end. In this Dakar, I did the same: I just went for it, all the days, no matter what was happening behind me – or in front of me. I just focused on my race.