Fraser McConnell (born September 9, 1998) is a Jamaican professional racing driver. McConnell is the most competitively successful Jamaican driver in the history of international

rallycross Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport held on a mixed-surface circuit (racing), racing circuit using modified production touring automobile, cars or prototype racing cars. It began in the 1960s as a cross between rallying and autocross ...

racing—his championship victory in the

2019 Americas RallyCross Championship The 2019 Americas Rallycross Championship was the second and final season of the Americas Rallycross Championship, a feeder championship to the FIA World Rallycross Championship representing North America. The season consists of six rounds across t ...

marked the first and only championship win by a Jamaican driver in the series’ history. In 2021, McConnell became the first and only Jamaican to claim a supercar victory in the Rally X Nordic league. In 2021, McConnell's debut supercar campaign received public recognition from

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

and Jamaican

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Andrew Holness Andrew Michael Holness, (born 22 July 1972) is a Jamaican politician who has served as Prime Minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, having previously served from 2011 to 2012, and as Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) since 2011. Ho ...

. McConnell currently competes professionally

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitrocross. The team is owned by Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini (marque), MINI, and Subaru dealer D ...

in the Group E class of Nitrocross.

Early life

McConnell was born in

Bog Walk Bog Walk is a town in the parish of Saint Catherine, Jamaica. In 1898 work started on a hydroelectric power plant on the Rio Cobre near Bog Walk. The plant (1,500 H.P.) was completed the next year and used to power Kingston Kingston may ref ...

St. Catherine, Jamaica Saint Catherine () is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parishes because of its many resources. It includes the first capital of Jam ...

. McConnell began

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

, and

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

at the age of eight. He achieved early success throughout his junior career, being named Jamaican Driver of the Year twice, and later claiming victory at Jamaica's nationally competitive Dover Race Track at the age of 16.

Racing career

McConnell made his rallycross career debut in 2018, competing in North America's ARX2 series. In his first race, McConnell recorded the fastest-out-of-the-box time, and ultimately reached the final four times out of five. In the final round of the season, McConnell achieved a podium finish. In 2019, McConnell made his international racing debut with

Olsbergs MSE Olsbergs MSE, which also competes under the title OMSE, is an auto racing team founded by Swedish former rally champion Andréas Eriksson as Motorsport Evolution (MSE) in 2005. In 2008 it ran under the name ''Ford Team RS Europe'', while in 2009 ...

. That same year, McConnell won the ARX2 championship, marking the first time in history for a Jamaican to lift the title. In 2021, McConnell secured his first supercar victory, defeating three-time FIA world champion

Johan Kristoffersson Johan David Kristoffersson (born 6 December 1988) is a Swedish racecar driver. He is a seven time World Rallycross Champion having won the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and in 2024. In 2018 he won a re ...

at the RallyX Nordic in Nysum, Denmark. McConnell joined

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...

Team X44 X44, who competed as Team X44 (2021–22) and as X44 Vida Carbon Racing (2022–23, for sponsorship reasons), was a British Extreme E racing team. The team was founded by seven-time Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. It won both the te ...

Extreme E Extreme E was an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that used spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations were chosen to raise awaren ...

for the 2023 season. He replaced

Sébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He ho ...

Cristina Gutiérrez Cristina Gutiérrez Herrero (born 24 July 1991) is a Spanish dentist and rally raid driver. She became the first Spanish female car driver to finish the Dakar Rally in 2017 before winning the event in the T3 category in 2024. In 2021 she was th ...

's partner.

Racing record

Complete Nitro Rallycross results

Supercar

Group E

Complete Extreme E results

( key) ^* Season still in progress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell, Fraser 1998 births Jamaican racing drivers Living people Sportspeople from Saint Catherine Parish Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers Extreme E drivers