McRae Kimathi: The next big thing in motor racing

Give me a boy, and I will return you a man, goes an old African adage. Sure as day and night, the Federation Internationale De I'Automobile (FIA) Rally Star Programme which was initiated shortly before the 2021 World Rally Championship Safari Rally, is doing just that.

It targeted upcoming drivers McRae Kimathi, Hamza Anwar and Jeremy Wahome. And each of them has proven beyond doubt that given the machinery and resources, a young Kenyan can stand tall.

In the mix is Maxine Wahome, a 24-year-old driver mid-wifed by personable Linet Ayuko.
McRae, 26, became the youngest driver to get a podium place in an African Rally Championship round among seniors and more seasoned competitors at the Rwanda Rally.

He is definitely the next big thing in motor racing.

His propensity to cruise effortlessly is hair-raising. It pleases the eyes and fires the imagination of any petrol-head.

We have a combination of youngsters who are as level-headed as their fathers. And McRae and his navigator, Mwangi Kioni, are going places.

They are children of two sports administrators Phineas Kimathi and Waithaka Kioni.

Phineas is an accomplished former rally driver at the chief executive officer of the World Rally Championship Safari Rally as well as the president of Kenya Motor Sports Federation. Waithaka is the Kenya Volleyball Federation president and National Olympic Committee of Kenya deputy president.

“Let’s go boys, let’s go! But don’t drink and drive. In the National Olympic Committee of Kenya we encourage responsibility," said the senior Kioni.

Kimathi, a lanky lad, unassuming and a good listener has achieved a remarkable feat on Sunday by attaining a podium finish in a star-studded ARC event.

The only other black Kenyans who has achieved that in the history of the race are Patrick Njiru and the late Jonathan Toroitich.

McRae is a chip from the old block. His father Phineas gave Hyundai their first global World Rally Championship title aboard in a Hyundai Coupe in 1999.

“I thank FIA president Jean Todt, he has given young drivers a chance to be like him,” said McRae, who is named after WRC legend the late Colin McRae from Scotland.

McRae was the youngest driver to finish the 2019 WRC Candidate Event Safari Rally- the most significant motoring event in Africa since 2002.

This event organised under the supervision of the FIA and its commercial rights holder WRC Promoter was the final test for Kenya which led to the re-admission of the Safari Rally back to the high-profile WRC after a 19-year absence.

McRae, navigated by Evans Mwenda in an old Subaru Impreza N12, a car which defined Subaru’s presence in the WRC when he was only 10, finished 25th in an event which decimated modern-day rally machines to notch two achievements of being the youngest driver at 24 in 2019 and youngest ever African driver to conquer the iconic Kenyan classic.

In Rwanda, McRae he teamed with Kioni.

“The Safari is a prestigious event with lots of history and heritage,” said McRae, adding that,” it requires utmost respect and preparation.

“It was a WRC Candidate Event in 2019, and I spent a month preparing the car to ensure I was ready for the grueling three days that we faced,” he said.

McRae made his rallying debut in the 2015 national championship series in Naivasha and got a baptismal of fire , but he managed a top 10 position in one of the rally stages. From then on his mindset changed. Rallying was a sporting event that demanded discipline, physical and mental fitness.

He also found out that one does not start climbing a tree from the top. First, he needed to work on his reflexes and long-term goals.

“I started rallying back in 2015. I did a couple of rallies in and out. Then I realised that I need something more realistic to help me develop to a better driver,” he says.

“With this mind, I did the full autocross championship in 2017 where I finished second. The next year I ended up third.

He also realised haste is not a virtue in the most scary way while still a teen. “It was back when I was 17 years old full of a young kid adrenaline,” he recalled.

“My father had a Subaru Forester and on Sundays, I would take it out for a spin. It was just around the estate. On this particular Sunday, I drove a bit too fast, slid off the road, hit an electricity post, and rolled. It was a pretty nasty accident but thank God I got out without major injuries.”

This incident taught him the need to respect cars and go through the learning curve if he was ever to become a rally driver. Was it a worthy lesson?

“This incident taught me many things. First of all, I discovered where my limit is and the dangers of motorsport,” he said.

“It also played a part psychologically in the early days of my rallying career, as I was a bit scared. In this sport you have to have a strong mentality and I quickly forgot about it and moved on. In hindsight, it allowed me to be more responsible in out of the sport.”

He still ranks his Safari finish as his high of his career and a fifth in 2019 KCB Meru Rally as an event which actualized his dream of becoming a force to reckon in rallying.

“My most memorable moment was finishing the Safari rally 2019 as a WRC Candidate Event. I think finishing fifth overall in the KCB Meru rally 2019 should be the highlight of my career.

Kimathi has not short of inspiring figures, his hero is the late British world champion, Colin McRae whom he is named after and his father Phineas Kimathi, one of the top indigenous African drivers and CEO of the WRC Safari Rally, played a crucial role influencing his decision to join rallies.

“Rallying for me has been somewhat second nature. I am happy that I was not forced into it, it came naturally for me. It is what I wanted when I was a little boy,” he recalled.

“Basically I come from a rallying Family. My father was a rally driver back in the day, early 90s to the early 2000s,” he reminisced. He was quite good in his time achieving championship success in 1997 and winning Formula 2 in 1999 Safari Rally Formula 2.”

“I mainly regard it as positive energy. Maybe in the beginning when I started, psychologically it played a part there was a lot of pressure to perform to live up to his legacy.

With time I managed to get out of his shadow, chart my own path, or rather write my own history.

Additionally reporting by Ruth Muthui in Kigali, Rwanda.