Meet the 2023 Nomad Overland Rally Teams

Thirty-nine teams from all over the United States are getting ready for the start of the second edition of the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally on Monday June 5th. The competitors are a diverse group representing 17 states (with a team from Poland overlanding the US on the west coast and a team from France exploring on the east coast) and offroad-capable vehicles by a range of manufacturers including Jeep, Toyota, Ford, Lexus, Land Rover and Volkswagen. They will be exploring vastly different landscapes as they compete over a ten-week period this summer.

Roughly a third of the teams are returning for the rally’s second year, and while the veterans may have a slight advantage by being familiar with the event format, rookie teams will be able to quickly get up to speed, making for a very equal playing field.

The Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally is a new and unique challenge that lets participants design their own multi-stage overland route anywhere in the U.S.A., then drive it — competing “virtually” online by accumulating specific points while they travel. The teams have ten weeks to plan their route, drive it, and earn points for activities related to driving, navigating and outdoor adventure. Additional points are available as part of a photo quest and weekly online challenges that continue throughout the event.

Competitors can create their routes near where they live, or travel to more distant areas — the choice is theirs. And the team “unit” is based on one driver and one vehicle, but has the flexibility to include others, so a competitor can do it on their own, with friends or family or a combination of the three. This year’s teams include solo drivers, buddies, couples, families with kids, and quite a number of “adventure dogs.”

There is a real variety of experience and expertise within the group — while a few are relatively new to overland exploration, others are full-time overlanders, seasoned off-road drivers or navigation rally experts. We are very excited to discover where this intrepid group of Nomads take us as they embark on their adventures — click on their tiles below (or go to the 2023 Teams page) to learn more about them and be sure to follow along.