The Queen of Dakar

Dakar Rally is one of the world’s toughest motor races. Since the late 70s, the globe’s best rally drivers have competed in the off-road endurance event. But prior to 2001, the race had only seen male champions. Then came Jutta Kleinschmidt, who was determined to shake things up a bit.  
 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Dakar Rally is one of the world's toughest motor races.
Since the late seventies, the globe's best rally drivers have
competed in the off road durance event from Paris to Dhaka,
the capital of Senegal. The race takes place across ten
thousand kilometers of rough terrain and the vehicles can range

(00:26):
from motorcycles to trucks. But prior to two thousand and one,
Dhaka had only seen male champions. The world of motorsport
has long been dominated by men, but one woman named
Yuta Kleinschmidt was determined to shake things up a bit. Hey,

(00:49):
I'm Tony Armstrong and welcome to the Pool Roup, where
we celebrate the winners, losers and the weird stuff between.

(01:14):
Yuta Kleinschmidt wasn't always a racing driver, which is remarkable
when you consider the fact that most people in motorsport
start from a very early age. Yota just wasn't the
go kart racing type, but growing up in Germany, she
did have an inclination for extreme sports. Yuta studied physics
at university, which led to a job with BMW where

(01:35):
she worked as a development engineer. This is where her
love of racing eventually emerged. She quit that job to
start racing full time, and the motorsport world did not
see her coming. Yota's first season of Dhaka was nineteen
eighty eight, and she initially competed in the motorcycle class.

(01:56):
That first year wasn't a great start, as she was
forced to retire set out the next three editions before
returning in nineteen ninety two. Then ninety four, Yuta placed
twenty third and twenty second respectively, which was pretty good
considering over one hundred bikes competing in those races. In
nineteen ninety five, Yuta switched from racing motorbikes to cars,

(02:17):
and this is where her career began to pick up speed.
The next four consecutive seasons were patchy, including a retirement
in ninety six, before recording her highest finished thus far
fifth in nineteen ninety seven. She also became the first
woman to win a stage of the prestigious race. Then,

(02:39):
for the nineteen ninety nine Daka rally, Yuta and her
co driver Tina Turna finished third. They became the first
women to stand on the Dakar podium, putting the racing
world on notice. Yuta and Tina returned to the track
the following year, where they were less successful, finishing fifth.
This was the end of their partnership. In two thousand

(03:03):
and one, You're To teamed up with a new co driver,
a fellow German named Andreas Schultz, driving a Mitzubishi Pajerro.
The pair lined up for the start of the race
on the first of January in Paris. They were one
of one hundred and thirteen vehicles in the car category,
and come the end of the race, less than half
would remain. Across twenty grueling stages, the competitors sped through

(03:30):
varied terrain, from the cobblestones of France to the deserts
of the African continent. The main battle was between the
Mitsubishi Pajero's and the Schlesser buggies. Mitsubishi had their rival
out numbered on the grid six vehicles to three, but
Jean Louis Schlesser was a two time winner of Dakka
and the favorite to take the title in two thousand

(03:51):
and one. Jean Louise had been building his own jumbuggy
since the early nineties with great success, but he was
about to get awake up, Yuta and Andrea's managed to
overtake Schlesser in the final stages to stun the racing world.

(04:11):
Yuta Kleinschmidt became the first woman to win the Dakar Rally,
writing her name into the history books once more. Uta
competed in Dakar for six more years, backing up a
two thousand and one title by finishing second the next year.
She featured in the event seventeen times, with six finishes

(04:34):
in the top five and four podiums. Her engineering background
saw the development of race winning vehicles in Dakar, and
her two thousand and one triumph has inspired young girls
and women everywhere who dare to dream. She remains the
only German to win the Dakar in the car category
and will forever be known as a motor racing legend.

(05:16):
I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Pool Room
and iHeart production. I'm Tony Armstrong and I'll speak to
you soon. Catch U.