Rally is Our Way of Life

The Dakar Rally special series

The 2024 Dakar Rally is the second outing of Uruguayan driver Patricia Pita Gago. Even though her trip came to an end abruptly, she is currently working towards the 2025 Dakar Rally with all her determination. We caught up with Patricia to hear about her experience, here is her story.

All photos © Patricia Pita Gago

Patricia was born into the rally way of life. Her father is Jorge Pita, multiple Uruguayan Champion and 1999 Codasur South American Rally Champion. “In our family, rally is our way of life. Since I could remember, I’ve always been going with my dad and my mom to the races. My dad is the most passionate person I’ve ever met. It was almost impossible for me not to feel this love for motorsport. He taught me how important it is to have something you love to do in your life.”

But Patricia’s racing career didn’t start until 2012, when she was already in her early 20s. “There weren’t any women in Uruguay racing rally. It was like my dad’s sport when I was a kid. It was very difficult for me to break down the first barrier. My dad was also quite cautious, due to the economic issues with racing. I started driving normal cars when I was little, but I only started racing when I was much older. I finished my study, then I traveled around. I came back to Uruguay when I almost turned 24, and I told my parents I was ready to start racing. I was the first woman rallying here.”

I had no previous experience in karting or anything. I just started racing rally at 24. My life completely changed. Since I got in a racing car, it’s been all I think of. My life has always been spinning around rally.

When Patricia first started rallying, she was racing on paved asphalt roads. “We don’t have cross-country rallying here in Uruguay. Two years ago, I changed discipline. I like all motorsport, but I like gravel more than asphalt. If I get into a racing car on the asphalt, I always feel like I’ll flip the car. But on gravel, I feel secure and I feel I can enjoy.”

One of the things that I always love about motorsport is how it teaches you that you always need to go forward, and that you always need to find a way to keep going. For me, that’s a really nice way of living because it’s the way I live my day-to-day. Being behind the wheel is the place I want to always be.

Being someone who feels at home in the gravel, racing in the Dakar seems like a proper goal in her racing career. Patricia did set this target quite early on. But when she actually put it to action, it was more like a Hail Mary move.”In 2016, I started saying that racing the Dakar would be a dream for me. But at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a possibility. I didn’t have a very good year in 2021. I didn’t meet all my goals. When I finished the 2021 season, I came back to Uruguay. I was thinking about quitting racing, but I was a bit frustrated. I spent many years getting sponsors, working on my images, and training. It was sad to give up just like that. How can I quit racing if I haven’t even at least tried to achieve my major goal which was racing in the Dakar? So I started my 2022 season with a conviction: I was going to do everything in my power to get to Dakar.”

Conquering through all the difficulties, Patricia made it to the starting podium of the 2023 Dakar Rally. “It was very difficult here in Uruguay. We have only three million people. It’s very difficult to get sponsors. I did everything to raise the money, I knocked on every door in Uruguay, my hair was coming off because of the stress. But we did it. My first experience was a really good one.”

Patricia finished her Dakar debut in 36th, but the journey wasn’t without its ups and downs. “One day we fell into a big hole in the sand. We thought we could never get out of there. Finally, when we got out, it was a really nice moment. I didn’t even know how we did it! The Dakar is life itself in 15 days, and it teaches you so many important things in life. It doesn’t matter how prepared you are, you learn so much along the way. You grow as a person.”

In 2023, Patricia was competing in the T3 category, but this year, with Astara Team, she got much better support, and moved onto the T1 category, competing in the highest level of the car category. “The team contacted me last July. They told me that they were looking for a Latin-American female driver. I told them I didn’t have that much experience racing in cross-country rally or in the desert. But they told me it was important that we grew together, which will be a long process for the both of us. So I jumped in this project and made this huge change.”

We have on this team people who know so much about cross-country and the Dakar. I’ve learned so much from sharing this experience with these amazing people. I feel like a privileged person to have the opportunity to be there.

But Patricia’s journey this year came to a stop quickly. “In the first stage, I flipped and rolled over. We wanted to keep going and finish the Dakar because that’s the rally spirit. But our car broke down and I had to withdraw. It was like a punch in my face. I did lack experience with the car, but I’m really happy we had the team’s support. We are already planning a different year of preparation. Hopefully I can finish it next year.”

I know that from the most difficult situations, you rise as a better and stronger person.

Racing alongside Patricia on the Astara team is the Dakar veteran Laia Sanz, who has competed in the Dakar eleven times on a motorcycle and moved to the car category since 2022. Patricia benefited greatly from being Laia’s teammate. “Laia is the best teammate I could ever dream of. She is someone I admire a lot. She’s been my inspiration for so many years. She’s a reference for women, and not just in motorsport. She always keeps going and she really believes in her dreams and herself even though she has gone through many difficult moments. We met at a testing before the Dakar. We immediately had a connection because she knew I had to break through the same barriers as she had. She was also the first woman from Spain to race in trial and the first to race in the Dakar in the motorcycle category. It means to me a lot that she’s always willing to teach me. After I had to withdraw from the race, I was still dining with her and trying to learn from her.”

It’s an honor for me to have met Laia, not only as a driver, but also as a friend. She’s doing incredible things.

Right now, unlike in previous years where she had to figure out what to do and put together the money to do it, Patricia already knows her goal in 2025. This is an important first step in her preparation. “I already know I’m going back to the Dakar with the Astara team, so I don’t have to keep chasing sponsors in November and December. I have a full year to work on my Dakar. We don’t have a similar car here in Uruguay and we are not allowed to drive in the desert here in Uruguay. We are now training with rear-drive cars which have the same traction as my Dakar racing car. We will also take part in some rallies in Europe to get familiar with my car. For the next Dakar, I can arrive more organized. I can actually concentrate on my racing rather than what I have to do to get to the racing.”

Besides the Dakar, Patricia also dreams of racing in all the other events in the rally-raid championship. We wish her all the best in the next Dakar and go beyond to other rally adventures in the future!