McRae locks in European rally campaign

Max McRae will undertake a Junior European Rally Championship campaign in 2023.

The nephew of the late 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae, son of Alister McRae and grandson of Jimmy McRae will become the third-generation member of his family to compete in the top-flight European championship.

“Beyond excited to announce that we will be competing in the 2023 Junior ERC – absolutely buzzing to get into it,” McRae said.

“Massive thank you to everyone that has helped us get here – it wouldn’t be close to possible without you.

“This will be a big change for me but I’m super excited for this new chapter.”

A naturalised Australian who lives in Perth, McRae commenced his rallying career in 2020, going onto compete in the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC).

His experience there set up him up for a European tour last year, during which he tested an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3 in Poland and competed in several rallying events.

“I was over in Europe for a while last year,” he added.

“I competed in events like Donegal, the Nicky Grist and went to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed and the McRae Rally Challenge at Knockhill, it kind of showed me that Europe is the epicentre of our sport.

“There are so many rallies going on all the time right across Europe – it’s the place to be.”

Following the tour, McRae set his sights on a Junior World Rally Championship tilt in 2023.

While that won’t be happening this year, the Junior WRC is still a goal for the 18-year-old via a prize drive on offer through the European championship.

“Junior ERC is the perfect step for me, competing in Australia has been amazing for the last couple of years, but I know I have to make the move and head across to Europe and that’s what this season’s all about,” McRae explained.

“There are some amazing events on the European calendar – events that offer massive diversity in the nature of roads, from the super-quick stages of Poland and Latvia to the asphalt rounds in Rome and Zlin and, of course, there’s the completely new rally in Sweden.

“The chance to learn new events across Europe is really important for me and my development – but the real carrot is the Junior WRC prize drive for next season – that’s definitely what we’re shooting for this year.”

McRae will move to Europe from Perth, ahead of the opening round of the 2023 European Rally Championship at Rally Poland on May 20-21.