Video: Emma Gilmour tackling the toughest Rally head on

Emma Gilmour (Getty Images)
Emma Gilmour (Getty Images)

As New Zealand's top female rally driver, Emma Gilmour is used to being something of a trailblazer, but this week she is taking that role to a whole new level, competing in the Portugal Baja.

It's a Rally, but without roads.

Surviving is key in cross-country rallies, where each stage can be longer than an entire WRC event.

The chance to tackle the Qatari desert was something Gilmour couldn't turn down.

"In New Zealand you might look at grass paddock and know what it would be like because that's what you grew up with," said Gilmour.

"But in the desert, it was just totally foreign, and working out where the hard and soft sand was was a very big learning curve."

Despite this, motorsport remains male-dominated, which led to a worldwide initiative to grow the number of elite female drivers. That is how Gilmour ended up in the middle of nowhere taking part in the Baja Rally.

Driving the Italian Baja and this week the Portuguese event, every rally is a step towards the dream of competition in the toughest motorsport event on Earth, the Dakar Rally.

This weekend's event will surely be tough for Gilmour; one year only 10-percent of starters finished the Baja Portugal.

Newshub.