Her journey through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) has placed a Ugandan woman at the centre of conversations about the future of motorsport, innovation, leadership and opportunity, perhaps the most important part of her journey is not what she has seen in America, but what she can bring home. Suzanne was selected for the first-ever motorsport-focused IVLP project, “Racing Forward: American Innovation in Motorsports.”
The three-week programme brought together 25 motorsport professionals from 25 countries across six continents. For Suzanne, who has spent years navigating rally stages in Uganda, the experience offered an opportunity to see motorsport from a much wider perspective, her engagements took her through Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Charlotte and Daytona, exposing her to different sides of the American motorsport industry. She visited institutions and organisations involved in racing, engineering, manufacturing, education, safety, broadcasting, tourism and event management.
Motorsport is bigger than the car
In Uganda, motorsport has passionate followers and talented competitors, but the conversation often begins and ends with the driver, the car and the results, Suzanne’s American experience presents another way of looking at the sport. Behind every successful racing event is an ecosystem, there are engineers developing technology, mechanics preparing cars, officials managing safety, broadcasters telling the story, photographers documenting the action, businesses providing services, sponsors supporting teams, communities hosting events and institutions developing the next generation of professionals.There is tourism, education, manufacturing, media, technology, jobs and business opportunities. That broader understanding could be particularly important for Uganda as the country’s motorsport industry continues to develop, the sport does not necessarily need to become a copy of the American model but there are lessons that can be adapted to the Ugandan environment.
Suzanne’s achievement also carries another layer of significance, she is a woman succeeding in a sporting environment that has historically been dominated by men, her story therefore becomes bigger than her own career. For a young Ugandan girl watching a rally from the roadside, Suzanne represents something tangible: a woman can sit in a competition car and be part of the decision-making, strategy and performance that takes place inside the cockpit but her journey also demonstrates that women can go beyond participation. They can become leaders, represent their countries, build institutions, mentor others, sit at international tables and contribute to conversations about the future of their sport. That is why representation matters when young girls see women occupying positions they once thought were reserved for men, the boundaries of possibility begin to move.
Suzanne’s journey has not been without difficult moments, after beginning her co-driving career in 2010, she built experience alongside several drivers before establishing a long partnership with Kepher Walubi. Then came a road accident in 2018 that injured her back and forced her to step away from the sport for six years, the cockpit was no longer part of her daily life but motorsport has a way of calling people back. In 2026, Suzanne returned to competition alongside Ambrose Byona known as “Omunyeeto” and in the same year, she found herself travelling to the United States as a representative of Uganda in a global motorsport leadership programme.
There is something powerful about that timeline a setback interrupted her journey, it did not define it but learning with the next generation in mind. Suzanne’s involvement with the Co-drivers Academy Uganda gives her American experience an even greater significance. The knowledge gained from seeing how institutions such as Purdue University connect education, engineering and motorsport could contribute to conversations about how Uganda prepares its own young people for careers in the sport, perhaps the future of Ugandan motorsport should not only be about finding the next great driver, it should also be about finding the next engineers, data analyst, race official, team manager, motorsport broadcaster, female mechanic, event specialist, entrepreneur and the next generation of women leaders.
That is where Suzanne’s journey becomes particularly relevant taking the lessons home. One of the most meaningful aspects of an international exchange programme is what happens after the participant returns home. The real success is not measured by the number of photographs taken or the number of famous facilities visited, it is measured by what knowledge comes back. What relationships remain, ideas are developed and opportunities are created for others.
Suzanne has seen how American cities have integrated motorsport with tourism and economic development. She has witnessed the role of universities in developing motorsport-related skills. She has seen the importance of safety, event planning, manufacturing, technology and professional media production. Uganda may have different resources and challenges, but the principles are transferable.
The opportunity now is to turn exposure into action, a road for the women coming behind her, perhaps Suzanne’s greatest contribution will not be measured by the rallies she has competed in or even the international programmes she has attended. It may be measured by the number of women who follow after the girl who decides to become a co-driver, the young woman who chooses motorsport engineering, the photographer who decides to specialise in racing, the broadcaster who discovers her voice through motorsport, the mechanic who refuses to believe that the workshop is not a place for women, the young leader who decides she can have a seat at the table, every pioneer makes the road easier for those who follow.
Suzanne Kalema is now part of that journey, her American experience has opened a window into what motorsport can become when sport, education, business, technology and leadership come together.
For Uganda, the challenge is to keep that window open and women in Motorsport Uganda, it is another reason to keep creating spaces where women can learn, compete, lead and inspire. Young women watching from the sidelines, perhaps Suzanne’s story offers the simplest message of all: You do not have to wait for the perfect road to start the journey sometimes, you start with one opportunity, one person who believes in you and one decision to keep going.
Then, one day, you may find yourself representing your country on the other side of the world and when you return, you do not return alone, you carry the dreams of the women coming behind you.That may be Suzanne Kalema’s most important race yet.
