Maxine Wahome has made history by being the first woman to win a round in the WRC3 division of the World Rally Championship, at the Safari Rally Kenya.
The 26-year-old Kenyan finished 16th overall, one position behind M-Sport Rally1 driver Gus Greensmith, and won the WRC’s third-tier class clocking 25 minutes and 27 seconds.
Given that Wahome had previously driven a Subaru Impreza N12 in the African Rally Championship, this was her first race in the M-Sport-built Ford Fiesta Rally3 car, making her victory all the more noteworthy.
Wahome did not realize that when she started her motorsport career in June 2021, that her foray into the pinnacle of rallying in Kenya would come with good news just 12 months later.
With motocross bikes, an autocross Impreza, and most crucially, placing last in her rallying debut at the WRC Safari Rally Kenya last year, Maxine was only making her first steps toward a brighter future.
However, 2022 has been a significant year for the kindergarten teacher, whose success in the cockpit continues to be a testament to her skill as a driver.
Maxine defeated Natasha Tundo in a tense speed test contest to win the inaugural Lioness All-Rally Women’s at Kasarani two months ago.
The soft-spoken driver was back at it over the weekend. She is already gaining attention on a global scale for both her skill in the cockpit and her ability to carve out a niche for herself in performance-oriented race cars.
“I’m proud and I’m happy I made history,” said Maxine Wahome when asked about the breakthrough moment.
“It was a big surprise for me. My goal was to learn the car and by learning the car each day I guess I improved my speed a made it to the first position. Thursday was my first time sitting in the car.
In addition to Hamza Anwar, Jeremy Wahome, and McRae Kimathi, Maxine is one of the four Kenyans who are currently participating in the FIA Rally Star Program.
She made the most of her local expertise last week when she made her M-Sport Poland Ford Rally 3 debut and unexpectedly won the WRC3 division.
“It’s unbelievable. I am equally flabbergasted. I mean, we started off really well and maintained a steady pace through and through. On the second day, Friday, we clung onto the lead and came back to the finish as the surprise winner of the WRC3 category which is two steps below the WRC category,” said Maxine.
Maxine did not have to wait very long to return to the summit on Saturday morning after a late retirement on Friday night cost her a 10-minute penalty and caused her to give up the lead to Kimathi.
The Kenyan encountered a computer problem in her Ford Fiesta on Saturday’s opening stage at Soysambu 1, which caused her to lose six minutes.
“We had an ECU issue that kept faulting in the stage we had to change it and just before we got into service it failed on us again and we had to retire and rejoin.
“We are happy we still kept the first place. The whole mission today was to make it to the finish and learn about the car because the gap was already big.”
However, Kimathi, a frequent competitor in the FIA Junior WRC, lost his day when he hit a rock on the road on the same stage at about the 15-kilometer mark. He suffered serious rear and front suspension damage.
WRC3 RESULTS
1 (KEN) Maxine Wahome /(KEN) Murage Waigwa (Fiesta Rally) 5:20:21.6
2 (KEN) Jeremy Wahome /(KEN) Victor Okundi (Fiesta Rally3) +32:27.4
3 (KEN) Mcrae Kimathi /(KEN) Mwangi Kioni (Fiesta Rally3) +35:37.7
