The third generation McRae on his way to the WRC

Rarely has a surname defined a sport as McRae does with rallying. The famous family dynasty has lit up stages across the globe, putting the World Rally Championship on the map in Great Britain, and now there is a third-generation McRae looking to follow in the footsteps of Jimmy, Colin and Alister.

Nine-thousand miles away from the family’s natural Scottish habitat, a new breed of McRae is starting out on a long rallying journey in Australia, one he wishes will result in bringing arguably the sport’s most famous name back to the WRC. Max McRae is the son of former WRC driver Alister, nephew to the late 1995 world champion Colin, and grandson of five-time British Rally champion Jimmy. To say he comes from good rallying stock is an understatement, and it was perhaps inevitable that he would pick up the rallying bug.

This year, aged 17, he’s been competing in the Australian Rally Championship, but he already has an ultimate dream in mind.

“As long as I’m in a race car and doing the thing I love, that’s the main thing,” says McRae. “But I definitely want to do rallying and follow the family name and what my family has done. One hundred percent, that is the goal, to do the World Rally Championship – that is the dream.”

The road to the WRC dream began at the age of six, when Max moved to Perth, Australia with his father Alister, and it wasn’t long before motorsport emerged as his goal in life. It’s safe to say that he wasn’t short of inspiration thanks to his successful father and the mark left by his global superstar uncle Colin.

PLUS: Colin McRae's 10 greatest rallies ranked

As soon as he was old enough, Max started go-karting aged seven at a local circuit in Perth, before going on to win six Western Australia state titles. In 2019, aged 14, a move to cars beckoned, aided by winning the Arise Racing Driver Search competition, judged by 2011 Bathurst 1000 winner Nick Percat. The prize was a fully funded drive in state-based Formula 1000 single-seater racing but, thanks to the spread of COVID-19 and the cancellation of the series, what eventuated was a couple of races in a Radical sportscar, the last of those coming at Wanneroo Raceway this weekend.

Max McRae has complemented his rallying with circuit racing

Photo by: Matt Jelonek

“Unfortunately, just before we were about to start the season, that was when the first proper wave of COVID hit pretty much the whole world, so that got put on pause for a year,” says McRae.

“Instead of doing the F1000 we’ve done some races in a Radical, and it’s been going well. I’ve been winning the last few races but we’ve had some cancellations, and you wouldn’t believe it, but they’ve been cancelled due to the weather in Australia. It’s been too wet.”

But circuit racing’s loss is rallying’s gain, as McRae has now elected to focus fully on following in the well-trodden path left by his relatives. While COVID continues to wreak havoc in Australia through various state lockdowns, McRae has managed to purchase an R2-spec Ford Fiesta, similar to those used in the Junior WRC. After a delay in its arrival from Spain, he made his Australian Rally Championship debut in May.

“It [the Ford] took quite a while to arrive – we ordered it over Christmas [2020] – but as soon as it arrived I was straight onto it,” he says.

"A lot of people agree that they want to see me in the rally cars, so that’s the route I will like to go down" Max McRae

McRae has already enjoyed success in the two-wheel-drive Fiesta, finishing second in class at his first national event, Rally Queensland in May. But a second wave of COVID has thwarted his national championship plans, leaving McRae to resort to outings in the Western Australia Rally Championship. It has, however, resulted in a reincarnation of one of rallying's most iconic double acts: McRae driving a four-wheel drive Subaru.

“Of course, as a racing driver you love whatever car you’re in and whatever you’re doing,” says McRae. “I think a lot of people agree that they want to see me in the rally cars, so that’s the route I will like to go down. We were meant to do the whole Australian Rally Championship this year and we did the second round in Queensland, which was the first round for me, and it went really well and I ended up taking second in the two-wheel-drive class and second junior in my first national event, so that was really good.

“We were hoping to get a few more rounds this year but it has pretty much all been cancelled. We have some local gravel events in the Western Australian Championship, so I will get some seat time here and hopefully next year I will go back up to the national level again.”

In 2019, Max McRae drove the famous 1997 Subaru Impreza that his uncle Colin McRae used to win the Safari Rally

Photo by: McKlein / McMaster

McRae is not the first youngster to try to follow in the footsteps of a famous motorsport father – or indeed uncle or grandad – and won’t be the last. But embarking on a rally career with his background and the McRae name brings pressure and expectation, although he has shown maturity beyond his years in dealing with the added attention that comes with it. He is also well equipped to cope with any challenges thrown at him by having Alister alongside for experience and guidance.

But what is perhaps most admirable is that, despite the doors the name may open, Max is down to earth and realises that hard work both on and away from the stages is the only way to achieve his lofty goals.

“It is very special [to be a McRae],” says Max. “It’s a bit weird now that I’m coming through the ranks. I get a lot of messages and mentioned in some stuff, so it’s a bit strange to get used to. The name won’t carry me through the ranks in rallying; I’ve got to work as hard as everyone else, and all the other kids in motorsport that are my age, to get to the top. The name does also help as it does give me some exposure, but I’ve got to work to keep the dream alive.

“Off stages and track it is a bit different. You’ve always got that thought in the back of your head that you have got to get the results that you’ve been set up to do. But when you are on the track, you do what you’re capable of – if that is winning, you go out to win, and if it’s not, you do the best you can and just improve for the next time.”

So how important is it to Max to have ex-WRC Hyundai and Mitsubishi ace Alister, also the 1995 British champion, in his corner?

“He’s all right, he gets a bit boring to be honest!” he jokes. “No, he’s good. He has brought me up through the ranks and he’s taught me everything I need to know. Especially having him and my grandfather Jimmy, I couldn’t ask for better teachers or a better family. They’ve taught me and they will keep teaching me until I’ve overtaken them.

“If we go testing he will sit with me to see how I’m going. He does whatever he can to improve me even if it’s just little things. But he only needs to hear the sound of the cars and he has to jump in. He can’t do a test session without jumping in the cars once or twice.”

McRae has been mentored by father Alister, and believes he couldn't have a better teacher

Photo by: Matt Jelonek

As Max admits, he has the best teachers out there to assist in achieving this dream, but this is the very start of a long-and-winding road to the promised land, which in his eyes is the WRC. Next year the plan is to complete a full season in the Australian Rally Championship, but after that McRae has his eyes firmly fixed on progressing to Europe and the Junior WRC.

“I really hope [we can do a full season in ARC],” he points out. “We’ve been out of it for a while [due to COVID], it’s only my second season in rallying, and hopefully next year we will get to some bigger rallies and get some more seat time.

“Of course, I’d love to get to Europe and especially the Junior WRC. That would be a real big goal to set up. You always get the money factor coming into it and we’ve got really good partners. They will carry me a long way and hopefully we can get to Europe in the next couple of years.”

"[Alister] has brought me up through the ranks and he’s taught me everything I need to know. Especially having him and my grandfather Jimmy, I couldn’t ask for better teachers or a better family" Max McRae

Reaching the WRC is notoriously difficult, and a challenge made increasingly harder with fewer seats at the top table. But the successes of Kalle Rovanpera and Oliver Solberg, both sons of former rally greats and who have landed factory drives at Toyota and Hyundai respectively, has provided yet further inspiration to bring the McRae name back to the WRC.

PLUS: The steely determination behind the WRC’s Solberg 2.0

“I’m always looking at Rovanpera and Oliver and watching them going through the ranks,” he says. “Even when I was go-karting I was watching them and thinking, ‘That’s what I could be doing if I put the hard work in’.”

Max McRae competing in the 2021 Australian Rally Championship

Photo by: Matt Jelonek

Driving uncle Colin’s famous Subaru

If ever Max McRae needed any inspiration to achieve his World Rally Championship dream, then a drive in his late uncle Colin’s 1997 Subaru Impreza WRC should do the trick.

In 2019, McRae was lucky to drive the Subaru that won the 1997 Safari Rally in the hands of Colin and co-driver Nicky Grist for a special film that pitched Max, father Alister and grandad Jimmy against the clock on a stage in the Welsh forests. While Alister came out on top, Max, then aged 15 and driving a WRC car for the first time, put in a time two seconds faster than Jimmy.

“You are kinda lost for words,” says Max. “If I did it again now I would really understand how much it means. I was a bit younger then, so it seemed like a really expensive race car, but now I understand more what goes into rallying.

“Even then the car just took my breath away. I couldn’t believe that the car was standing in front of me. You always watch it on videos. I thought it was a dream – I couldn’t believe it was there let alone getting to drive it.

“Being there with Nicky Grist and my grandfather and lot of my family, it was really special. Hearing the cars going into the forest and dad driving them how they shouldn’t be driven, it was really special. I’d love to do it again one day.”

McRae Jr was two seconds quicker than five-time British champion grandfather Jimmy when he drove Colin's 1997 Impreza in 2019

Photo by: McKlein / McMaster