A bookstore owner from Łódź who took up rally raid at 49 and became the second Polish woman to finish the Dakar Rally, Magdalena Zając has spent the better part of a decade proving that the sport’s entry window is wider than anyone assumed.

EARLY YEARS

Born on September 2, 1968, in Łódź, Poland, Zając grew up in Kielce, where she attended II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Jana Śniadeckiego before moving to Łódź to study at the University of Łódź. [5] She has lived in Łódź ever since, eventually establishing herself there as a business owner. Despite being a lifelong fan of motorsport, she did not enter competitive racing until 2017 — at the age of 49 — when she lined up for the Columna Medica Baja Drawsko Pomorskie as part of the Dacia Duster Cup. [1] It was, by any measure, an unconventional starting point.

OTHER INTERESTS

Away from racing, Zając runs “Odkrywcy” — “Discoverers” — a bookstore at 46 Narutowicza Street in central Łódź, operating under the business entity Biuro Odkryć. [10] The name is not accidental; she is a committed reader who has noted that she reads in English. [16] She has also participated in the Wings for Life World Run. [17] The bookstore and the rally car coexist without apparent contradiction — both are, in their way, about covering ground.

EARLY SUCCESS

The results came quickly once Zając found her footing in off-road competition. The 2021 season was her breakout year by any measure: she took first place in the TH class at the Italian Baja, won the Open class at the Silk Way Rally, claimed another TH class victory at the Baja Portalegre 500, and finished third in the historic class at the Fenix Rally. [1] It was a haul that established her as a genuine competitive force rather than a feel-good story about a late starter.

She co-founded Proxcars TME Rally Team alongside rally engineer Adam Szelerski, and her Toyota Hilux — nicknamed “Kicia,” or “kitty,” by the team — became her weapon of choice in the T1 category. [1] [3] In 2022, she took the Tunisia Desert Challenge (15th overall) and started the Andalucía Rally before retiring. [1] The step up in ambition was clear: she was steering toward the Dakar.

Her 2023 Dakar debut ended at stage four, a retirement that she refused to treat as a full stop. [1] Undeterred, she returned to Saudi Arabia in January 2024 with navigator Jacek Czachor — a 16-time Dakar participant — and completed the rally, finishing 112th overall, 45th in the Ultimate category, and first in the T1.1 class. [5] [28] The title of a profile published after her 2023 retirement — “Magdalena Zając — nigdy nie chciałam jechać na Rajd Dakar” (“I never wanted to go to Dakar Rally”) — offered a glimpse into her dry self-awareness about how the event had claimed her despite her initial reluctance. [11] After completing stage ten of the 2024 edition, she told reporters simply: “Jestem szczęśliwa, że udało się ukończyć kolejny” — “I’m happy that we managed to complete another.” [14] It was understated in the way that only genuine satisfaction tends to be.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2021: First place, TH class — Italian Baja [1].
• 2021: First place, Open class — Silk Way Rally [1].
• 2021: First place, TH class — Baja Portalegre 500 [1].
• 2021: Third place, historic class — Fenix Rally [1].
• 2024: First place, T1.1 class — Dakar Rally; 45th in Ultimate category, 112th overall; became the second Polish woman to complete the Dakar Rally, twenty-two years after Martyna Wojciechowska’s 44th-place finish in 2002 [1] [5] [28].
• 2025: First place, T1.1 class; second in overall car classification — Africa Eco Race [3] [12].
• 2025: Leader, Ultimate classification — FIA European Baja Cup (ongoing at time of writing) [2].

INSPIRATIONS

The shadow of Martyna Wojciechowska looms large over Zając’s Dakar story — as the first Polish woman to complete the rally, finishing 44th in the cars in 2002, Wojciechowska set the benchmark that Zając spent two decades closing the gap toward. [1] [5] Whether Wojciechowska served as a direct personal inspiration is not documented, but the historical weight of the comparison is impossible to miss: twenty-two years passed between the first and second Polish women at the Dakar finish line.

REPUTATION

The phrase that follows Zając everywhere in Polish motorsport coverage is some variation on “racing begins after fifty” — a reference to the fact that she started competing at 49 and has only accelerated since. [31] At 56, she is leading the Ultimate classification of the FIA European Baja Cup 2025 and coming off a class win at the Africa Eco Race. [2] [3] The narrative writes itself, which is both a gift and a slight oversimplification: she is not merely a story about age, she is a driver who wins classes at international events.

Her decision ahead of the 2025 season to enter the Africa Eco Race rather than return to Dakar was framed as a deliberate choice — a preference for what one outlet described as a “real school of survival.” [35] It is the kind of move that reflects competitive thinking rather than sentiment, which tracks with everything else in her record. She and co-driver Błażej Czekan finished second in the overall car classification at that event, with first in the T1.1 class. [3] [18]

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Zając has confirmed her intention to compete in the Morocco Desert Challenge in 2025, likely alongside her continued participation in the FIA European Baja Cup, where she currently leads the Ultimate classification. [19] [2] Whether a third Dakar attempt features in her plans has not been publicly confirmed at the time of writing, but given the trajectory — retirement in 2023, completion and class win in 2024 — it would be unwise to assume she is finished with it.

References:

World Rally Raid Championship — Magdalena Zajac Competitor Profile
TME.eu — Magdalena Zajac Leader of the Ultimate Class in the FIA European Baja Cup 2025
TME.eu — Polish Woman the Best in Africa Eco Race 2025
Milionerzy Fandom Wiki — Magdalena Zając
Wikipedia (Polish) — Magdalena Zając
YouTube — Magdalena Zając po 10 etapie Rajdu Dakar 2024
Głos Wielkopolski — Magdalena Zajac Tag
Superbike — Africa Eco Race Is On
Odkrywcy Bookstore — About Us
Śniadanie z Błotem — Magdalena Zając: nigdy nie chciałam jechać na Rajd Dakar
Dakar.pl — Kolejny sukces Magdaleny Zając: łodzianka najlepsza w Africa Eco Race 2025
Rally and Race — Magdalena Zając po 10 etapie Rajdu Dakar 2024
Lockdown Essentials — Magdalena Zajac
Wings for Life World Run — Magdalena Zajac Profile
TME.com (US) — Polish Woman the Best in Africa Eco Race 2025
131 Offroad — Magdalena Zajac to Run Morocco Desert Challenge
Wikipedia (French) — Magdalena Zając
Rally and Race — Magdalena Zając znów udowadnia, że jazda zaczyna się po pięćdziesiątce
Radio Łódź — Rajd Dakar 2024: Magdalena Zając z Łodzi na mecie
Africa Eco Race — Magdalena Zajac 2025 Competitor Profile
131 Offroad — Magdalena Zajac Opts for Real School of Survival: Africa Eco Race over Dakar