West Campus Student Chasing Her Dreams At Full Speed
For years, Fernando Cáceres, a rally race car champion, tried to protect his daughter from the demanding male-dominated sport.
He enrolled young Maite Cáceres in a plethora of activities—tennis, handball, hockey and even singing lessons—but none of them struck a chord.
“They put me in every sport you can possibly imagine…just so that I [could] forget about racing and maybe find another sport,” she said.
But after Fernando watched his 17-year-old daughter exit a go-kart following her first racing session in Uruguay, he couldn’t keep her from her passion.
“When I saw her leaving [the box] I had the sensation as if I was seeing a race car driver instead, not a young novice that was trying out karting,” Fernando said. “I said, ‘oh, we have problems here,’ because she came out with a decisive look and determination that I had seen many times in race car drivers.”
Since then, Maite, who is now a 22-year-old business administration student at West Campus with a 3.0 GPA, has been immersed in the motorsports world.
She is currently competing in the Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship with RAFA Racing Club and will be featured in the Prime Video series, First To The Finish, next year.
“They told me that [ever since I was] in my mom’s womb, I have been in the racetrack smelling oil gas,” Cáceres said. “It’s a natural world for me.”
Maite first expressed a passion for racing when she was eight, but the sport was always in her blood. Her father won Rally Argentino from 2017 to 2019 and her brother Juan races formula cars in the United States and Europe. He won the 2003 Formula BMW Junior Cup.
The motorhead has quietly found a lane into the sport. She spent two years go-karting in Uruguay, becoming the first female podium finisher in the DD2 category, securing the vice-champion title in 2020.
In 2023, she earned a spot in the Formula 1 Academy, racing for Campos Racing, a Spanish F1 team. She made history as the first Latin American female driver on the F1 ladder.
Last year, Maite finished third at the Formula 4 United States Championship, placing in the top three five times during the competition. She is the first female to ever achieve that result in the United States.
To get those results, Maite keeps a tight schedule.
A typical day for her starts at 8 a.m. with sponsorship meetings and brainstorming for upcoming races. Maite’s next race will take place at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 11 and 12.
On Tuesdays, she reserves time to do media interviews and creates content for her Instagram account @maitecaceress, which features stories, reels and updates on her racing career.
Wednesdays and Fridays are reserved for go-karting sessions at the RAFA Racing Club. She augments that with virtual training that simulates real-life racing for about three hours on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
To prepare her body for the rigors of the racetrack, she performs daily exercises focused on her core and back. The techniques range from pull-ups, one-arm rows and lat pull-downs.
Despite having the spotlight on her, Maite keeps a low-profile on campus.
“She is so humble, she doesn’t want anyone to know that she’s doing what she does,” said Suze Guillaume, director of advisement and career services at West Campus.
This summer, Maite took three classes: introduction to public speaking, first-year experience seminar, and American government at West Campus.
Most of her courses were during the morning. She studies and completes assignments in the late afternoon.
“She deserves all of my respect, because she achieved her dream based on her consistency and absolute determination, which was fueled by the passion she has,” Fernando said.
Some of the interviews for this story were conducted in Spanish.
Click here to subscribe to our bi-weekly newsletter, The Hammerhead. For news tips, contact us at mdc.thereporter@gmail.com.
