How experienced co-driver Sébastien Delaunay helps young female racer Aliyyah Koloc become an accomplished rally raid driver
Sébastien Delaunay is a professional rally co-driver and has been working with 20-year-old racer Aliyyah Koloc for two years now. Together they have been racing in the Middle East Rally Raid Championship, the FIA World Rally Raid Championship as well as the mythical Dakar. With the 2025 Dakar only about a month away, we spoke to Sébastien about his role as a co-driver and how he has been helping Aliyyah to keep improving in rally raids.
Sébastien Delauney has been a professional co-driver in rally raids for over two decades and has been a fan of rallies since an early age. “When I was a child, a rally passed not far from my home and I loved going to see it. I also really liked watching the Dakar on TV. It has always made me dream,” he says. Though he didn’t practice any motorsport when he was young, the sport stayed in the back of his mind. And when he started to make a living, he chose rallying as his career. “Unfortunately, I was a very bad driver,” Sebastien remembers. “At one point, I destroyed three cars in one weekend. That’s when I told myself I’d better do something else.” As coincidence would have it, the person he sold his rally cars to was looking for a co-driver, and so it began.
Difficult beginnings
The first time, the experienced Frenchman navigated Buggyra Racing driver Aliyyah Koloc was in 2022 at the Baja Jordan. Aliyyah remembers: “I instantly had a good connection with Sébastien, both on a personal and professional level. He gives clear instructions but only tells me what I need to know. Nevertheless, it took me some time getting used to having somebody telling me what to do in the car.”
Being navigated by somebody when you are going at full speed in unknown terrain can be daunting, particularly for a young driver like Aliyyah. Sébastien explains: “In the beginning, it was a little bit difficult for Aliyyah as she tends to be in her own world and she had to learn to work as a team in the car. That was the hardest thing for her, as otherwise, as a driver, she has real natural talent.”
Teamwork counts more than experience
Rally raids are always a bit of an unknown territory. Unlike conventional rallies, they use offroad terrain like the desert, dunes, and rocks, and there is no testing beforehand. “You get the roadbook just before you start your day. We discover the terrain as we go. There are indications in the roadbook and we follow certain tracks. Yet sometimes we will be forced to go around obstacles and to agree on the best route,” Sebastien explains his way to navigating.
In most areas in life, experience makes for an important advantage. Rally raids are no exception, though when you ask Sébastien if it is easier to be the co-driver of an experienced or young driver, his answer is a little surprising. “An experienced driver can more easily explain to the co-driver what is required and he will also be able to help solve problems to which the co-pilot has not found a solution. However, what is much more important than experience is teamwork and working well together, particularly in tricky situations. It is impossible to go fast if there isn’t a good understanding between the driver and the navigator,” says the 43-year-old Frenchman.
Fast learner
With over two decades of experience as a co-driver in rally raids, Sébastien has worked with many drivers, both male and female, experienced and not so much. So, he is in a good position to judge the development Aliyyah has gone through in only two years of doing rally raids. “Apart from getting used to relying on somebody else in the car, Aliyyah has improved her driving skills a lot. In the beginning, she was a little uneasy about driving on rocks, but that has gone completely. She also has a much better control of the car and knows how to take a calculated risk.”
2025 Dakar
The duo has already done this year’s Dakar together. It was only the second event that the two drove together and the first Dakar for Aliyyah in the Ultimate class, the highest class of rally raids. They finished an impressive 25th overall out of only 55 that reached the finish line, while leaving some big names behind them.
For the 2025 Dakar which starts in early January, Sébastien will once again be Aliyyah’s navigator. “I know Saudi Arabia well which gives us an advantage, but you can't really prepare. It's the experience that counts here,” Sébastien concludes.
