Paula Gibeault, a rally driver of note in her own right, has actively pursued co-driving in various arenas. Not content to prevail over both seats in a rally car, she has also co-driven in off-road racing competing in both the Baja 500 and 1000 for three seasons from 1993 to 1995.

Coming from the prolific California Rally Series, she and her husband Mike, have been in the forefront of the rally community for more than 25 years. Together they manage the National Event held in Lancaster, CA, appropriately named Rim-Of-The-World.

While completing an college exchange program in Scotland she discovered the world of rallying and was completely hooked. She began by co-driving and did not drive until she returned to the US where she got her elementary teaching credential.

In 1974 she began rallying in the US and co-drove for a year. Being that this was only the third year of the SCCA Pro-Rally series, Paula has been involved in rallying since its start. She was not content to remain on the passenger side of the car and the following year bought her first rally car, a Datsun 510. She quickly moved up in the ranks and graduated to faster cars .

In 1977 she married a fellow rallyist and continued rallying primarily as a driver and in 1980 she had a daughter Chrissy, but the marriage ended shortly thereafter. Deciding to stick with her hobby she married another rallyist and now she and Mike Gibeault have three daughters, two of whom also co-drive.

Paula's talent and experience cannot be overlooked. She says that she has competed in "a zillion" events and in 1978 she even competed in the Mexican 24 Hour Rally.

In 1984 Paula and Mike began organizing the Rim-Of -The-World event andhave been doing so ever since. This takes up six months of their lives everyyear and keeps them busy year round. In 1990 she and her husband expandedtheir administrative rally duties by taking on the role of SCCA field staff,SOPAC Divisional Pro Rally Stewardship, and most currently on the NationalPro Rally Board.

Although they have known each other for a long time, it was not until 1994 that Paula teamed up with Michael Whitman for the first time. This relationship continued in the 1996 season when they both took home Championship honors in the SCCA National Pro-Rally Group 2 class.

The team will drive selected events in 1997 while acclimating themselves to the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 and hope to contest a full season in 1998.