For every young girl standing at the side of a rally stage and dreaming of one day being part of the action, Suzanne Kalema’s journey carries an important message:
Your dream is valid, and your place in motorsport is possible.
Ugandan female rally co-driver Suzanne Kalema represented Uganda and Women in Motorsport Uganda on an international stage after being selected for the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the United States. The three-week programme, titled “Racing Forward: American Innovation in Motorsports,” brought together 25 motorsport professionals from 25 countries across six continents. More importantly, it marked the first IVLP programme dedicated specifically to motorsport.
For Uganda, and particularly for women in the country’s motorsport community, Suzanne’s participation is more than a personal achievement. It is a powerful reminder that women can dream beyond the boundaries they may see around them.
A Rally Baby Who Never Stopped Dreaming
Suzanne’s relationship with motorsport began long before she became a professional co-driver, she describes herself as a “rally baby,” having spent much of her childhood attending rallies with her father and growing up around the excitement, noise and energy of the sport.
In 2010, she received her first opportunity to step into the cockpit, thanks to Nasser Mutebi. Her competitive journey began with Abdul Samad at the Botanical Gardens before she went on to compete in sprint events and work alongside different drivers, including Allan Gayi and Arthur “Kasumali.” Eventually, she settled into a long-term partnership with Kepher Walubi.
Like many sporting journeys, however, hers was not without challenges. In 2018, Suzanne took a break from motorsport after a road accident injured her back. For many athletes and competitors, such a moment can become the end of a dream but Suzanne’s story did not end there. In 2026, she returned to the cockpit alongside Ambrose Byona known as “Omunyeeto’, proving once again that sometimes taking a break does not mean giving up. Sometimes, it simply means preparing to return stronger.
Now, 16 years after her first opportunity in the cockpit, her journey has taken her from the dusty rally stages of Uganda to some of the biggest motorsport institutions in the United States.
Suzanne was nominated by the U.S. Embassy in Uganda to represent the country as a professional female rally co-driver, a director at the Co-drivers Academy Uganda, and an advocate for greater opportunities for women and girls in motorsport, her participation in the IVLP programme placed her among motorsport professionals from countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and the Americas. Together, the participants explored the wider world of motorsport—not just the racing itself, but the industries and opportunities behind it.
From Washington, D.C., to Indianapolis, Charlotte and Daytona, Suzanne had the opportunity to engage with organisations and institutions that showed how motorsport connects with engineering, technology, manufacturing, tourism, media, education, safety and business, her journey included visits and engagements with major names and institutions in American motorsport, including Purdue University, Chip Ganassi Racing, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dallara, Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
For someone who has spent years sitting beside drivers, reading pace notes and navigating rally stages, the experience offered a completely different perspective on what motorsport can become because motorsport is not only about being a driver, there is a place for engineers, mechanics, journalists and photographers, broadcasters and content creators, event organisers, safety officials, data analysts, managers and entrepreneurs.
And importantly, there is a place for women.
More Than Racing
One of the strongest lessons from Suzanne’s journey is that motorsport has enormous potential beyond competition. In Uganda, many people still see motorsport mainly as a weekend event—a rally, a race, spectators and trophies but Suzanne’s experience in the United States has demonstrated how motorsport can also contribute to tourism, education, employment, technology and economic development. This is particularly important for countries like Uganda, where motorsport continues to grow and attract passionate young people.
The question is no longer simply how we can produce more drivers and co-drivers. The bigger question is:
How can we create more opportunities for young people to build careers in motorsport?
And for women, that question becomes even more important, for years, motorsport has been viewed as a male-dominated space. Women who enter the sport often have to prove not only their talent but also their right to belong but every woman who succeeds changes the picture for the next generation, every female co-driver inspires another girl to enter a cockpit, every female engineer shows young women that technical careers in motorsport are possible.
And lastly every female journalist, photographer, mechanic or team manager expands the idea of what a woman can become in the sport.
Suzanne Kalema’s journey is not only inspiring for women in motorsport, it speaks to every woman in sport and every young girl with a dream. Success does not always happen quickly sometimes the journey includes setbacks, sometimes you have to pause and recover then return and begin again.
But your starting point does not have to determine your destination, Suzanne started as a young girl attending rallies with her father in Uganda. Years later, she is sitting at international tables, engaging with global motorsport professionals and representing her country in one of the world’s most respected professional exchange programmes. That is the power of passion, consistency and believing that your journey can go further.
A Win for Women in Motorsport Uganda
For Women in Motorsport Uganda, Suzanne’s achievement is a moment of pride, her presence on such an international platform represents more than one individual. She carries the hopes and possibilities of many women who are already involved in motorsport and those who are still watching from the outside, wondering whether they too can be part of the sport.
The answer is simple: Yes, they can.
Women do not have to wait for permission to dream. They can take up space, learn, compete, lead and create opportunities for others. Suzanne’s journey from Uganda to America is proof that motorsport can open doors that once seemed impossible as she continues her IVLP journey and prepares to bring home the lessons, ideas and connections gained from the programme, one thing is already clear:
Her story is bigger than the places she has visited, it is about what happens when a young girl grows up with a dream and refuses to let that dream disappear. For the next generation of women in Ugandan motorsport, Suzanne Kalema has helped make the road ahead a little easier to see and perhaps somewhere in Uganda today, another young girl is standing beside a rally car, listening to the sound of the engine and dreaming. One day, she may remember stories like this and believe:
“If she could do it, maybe I can too.”
And that is how the future of women in motorsport begins.
