The Jeep brand is returning to one of North America’s most demanding off-road competitions, marking its 11th consecutive year as a Silver Partner of the Rebelle Rally. The 2026 event will once again provide a rigorous real-world test of Jeep’s four-wheel-drive capability, while placing equal emphasis on navigation, endurance, teamwork and driver skill.
Scheduled for October 7–17, the 11th annual Rebelle Rally will send teams across approximately 1,500 miles of rugged terrain spanning Utah, Nevada and California. Unlike conventional off-road races, the event is not decided by outright speed. Competitors must navigate using paper maps, compass headings and roadbooks, with GPS devices and cell phones prohibited.
For the Jeep-sponsored Team 129, the challenge will be tackled by veteran competitor Nena Barlow and first-time Rebelle Rally entrant “Hurricane” Hannah Felton. Their competition vehicle will be a stock Jeep Gladiator Mojave, a model that has already established a strong record in the event and remains the only Jeep vehicle to carry the brand’s Desert Rated designation.
Team 129 Brings Experience and Fabrication Expertise
Barlow enters her 10th Rebelle Rally with extensive experience in competitive off-roading and four-wheel-drive instruction. Based in Arizona, she operates Barlow Adventures, where she provides off-road training and guided experiences throughout the American Southwest. Her familiarity with desert terrain and rally navigation makes her one of the event’s most experienced competitors.
Felton brings a different but complementary skill set. An accomplished off-roader, welder and fabricator, she has experience building vehicles as well as driving them in demanding environments. The 2026 Rebelle Rally will represent her first appearance in the competition.
The pairing gives Team 129 a combination of proven rally knowledge and hands-on mechanical expertise. Barlow will also be able to draw on nearly a decade of experience competing in the unique navigation-based format.
Gladiator Mojave Faces the Desert
The Gladiator Mojave was engineered specifically for high-speed desert running, making it a natural fit for the Rebelle Rally’s demanding environment. The truck combines Jeep’s four-wheel-drive system with a reinforced frame, strengthened axles and cast-iron steering knuckles designed to withstand sustained punishment.
Its suspension is equally focused on desert performance. The Mojave features a one-inch factory lift, FOX hydraulic jounce bumpers and FOX internal-bypass remote-reservoir shocks. A high-speed rear locking axle further enhances traction when terrain becomes loose, uneven or technically demanding.
The Gladiator Mojave has already demonstrated its capabilities in the Rebelle Rally, earning two overall victories. Jeep vehicles as a whole have accumulated eight overall wins and five Bone Stock awards since the competition began. That history dates to the inaugural 2016 event, when Charlene Bower and Kaleigh Hotchkiss captured victory in a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
Jeep Continues Supporting Privateer Competitors
Jeep’s involvement extends beyond its factory-supported entry. Nearly one-third of the Rebelle Rally’s private teams compete in daily-driven Jeep vehicles, highlighting the extent to which the event has become a proving ground for the wider Jeep off-road community.
To recognize those competitors, Mopar will award prizes to the highest-finishing privateer Jeep teams through FlexCare Vehicle Protection and Jeep Performance Parts. Further details about the awards are expected closer to the event.
With Team 129 combining an experienced Rebelle veteran, a first-time competitor and a stock Desert Rated Gladiator Mojave, Jeep’s 2026 campaign will once again demonstrate that the Rebelle Rally is about more than horsepower or outright pace. Success depends on accurately reading the landscape, conserving equipment and working as a team—precisely the conditions under which purpose-built off-road capability can prove its value.
Source: Stellantis