McRAE JR EYES A STEP INTO THE WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
Alister McRae’s son looks to gain more knowledge on the global stage
Max McRae is targeting a move into the Junior World Rally Championship next season after a recent fact-finding visit to the Acropolis Rally.
McRae, the son of Alister McRae and nephew of the late Colin, travelled with his grandfather Jimmy to Greece to test an M-Sport Poland-run Ford Fiesta Rally3 car and stopped in at the WRC service park. He now has his eyes set on a switch to the global series after cutting his teeth in his Australian homeland.
The 18-year-old said: “Junior WRC, especially with the rallies they’ve got and the mileage I’d get, it’s just very good experience, with different types of stages. It’s just cool how you can go on ice and snow and Tarmac and also a bit of gravel, it’s got everything for the experience.
“We really want to do it and the team also want to see me there but it’s all about budget, it always comes down to that. We’re working as hard as we can to get that deal done.”
Max McRae is “a few deals” away from a Junior WRC Championship drive in 2023, telling reporters on the Acropolis Rally recently how his father Alister is working behind the scenes to secure a programme for his 18-year-old son.
Jimmy McRae’s grandson and the late Colin McRae’s nephew was in Greece to test an M-Sport Poland-run Ford Fiesta Rally3 and used the opportunity to visit the World championship counter with his grandfather.
Of his JWRC chances, Western Australia-based McRae said: “Hopefully we’ll make Junior WRC work and hopefully Greece will be in the calendar. It’s the first WRC event I’ve been to and it’s a pretty cool event with a lot of history.
“The JWRC is the best stepping-stone you can go to from pretty much anything. From what I’m doing now [in Australia] it’s not really a jump into a really fast car like a Rally2 because it’s a slower car. I’ve done a bit in an R2 and in a Rally4 and it would be the necessary step to go to from where
I’m at now.
“Junior WRC, especially with the rallies they’ve got and the mileage I’d get, it’s just very good experience, with different types of stages. It’s just cool how you can go on ice and snow and Tarmac and also a bit of gravel, it’s got everything for the experience.
“We really want to do it and the team also want to see me there but it’s all about budget, it always comes down to that. We’re working as hard as we can to get that deal done. My daddy is at home now on the phone trying to a few deals together. We’ll work hard towards it and hopefully we’ll be on the startline for the first rally next year.”
Next year’s JWRC is set to continue with a five-event calendar for what will be the second season of an initial three-year agreement with the FIA to provide the Fiesta Rally3 as the base car. Despite its World title it is understood there are no plans to include a round outside Europe.