Uruguayan racer Maite Cáceres is set to make her debut in the Mazda MX-5 Cup with RAFA Racing Team, in a partnership with McCumbee McAleer Racing after a standout 2024 season with multiple podiums and third-place in the Ligier JS F4 standings.
Maite Cáceres is set to make her Mazda MX5 Cup debut, moving from the Ligier JS Formula 4 championship, in a partnership between RAFA Racing Team and McCumbee McAleer Racing.
The Uruguayan racer enjoyed a widely positive 2024 season, finishing third in the standings with five podiums and 10 top-five results to her name. Cáceres will join the RAFA Racing Team stable in 2025, and will contest her first season in sports cars after racing F4 machinery in the last three years.
Maite made her racecar debut in the US F4 championship in 2022, recording a personal best of 12th at Road America. She entered two rounds of the USF Juniors towards the end of the season, running steadily close to the top ten and improving her personal best to 11th both at Road America and COTA.
Cáceres moved to Europe in 2023, where she contested her first race in the new-gen Tatuus F4 car in Formula Winter Series, before signing for Campos Racing in the inaugural F1 Academy season. Maite learned new tracks and adapted to a new car, scoring points in three rounds during her rookie season in Europe, in a solid progression that aided her growth as a racing driver.
Back in the US in 2024, Cáceres raced in select rounds of the Formula FARA series, where she consistently battled for the podium, as she prepared for her the Ligier JS F4 campaign.
Once back behind the wheel of the Ligier JS F422 machine, Maite was immediately on pace, competing for podiums and victories.
Cáceres established herself as a front-runner, securing second- and third-place finishes at the season opener at NOLA Motorsports Park. The Uruguayan stepped onto the podium in the following two rounds as well, ultimately achieving a streak of eight consecutive top-five finishes. She finished the season with another top three at COTA, claiming third in the standings - thus becoming the first woman to finish in the top three in the history of Formula Regional Americas, F4 US, and Ligier JS F4.
The Uruguayan is now set to make her debut on the IMSA platform, joining the highly competitive Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup.
The RAFA Racing entry will be run by 2024 team's champion McCumbee McAleer Racing.
Home of some of the closest racing action in North America, Mazda MX-5 Cup will feature seven rounds, starting from the iconic Daytona International Speedway on 22-24 January. The street circuit of St Petersburg will follow in a support round of IndyCar, before races at Barber Motorsports Park, Mid Ohio Sports Car Course, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, VIRginia International Raceway and Road Atlanta, which will round out the season.
The series has historically proven to be a remarkable platform for young talents aiming to move up the sports car ladder.
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