Colin McRae
Encyclopedia
Colin Steele McRae, MBE
(5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007) was a Scottish rally
driver born in Lanark
.
The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae
and brother of rally driver Alister McRae
, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion
and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the World Rally Championship
Drivers' title. He still holds that record.
McRae's outstanding performance on the Subaru World Rally Team
enabled the team to win the World Rally Championship Constructors' title three times in succession in 1995, 1996 and 1997. After a four-year spell with the Ford Motor Co. team, which saw McRae win nine events, he moved to Citroën World Rally Team in 2003 where, despite not winning an event, he helped them win the first of their three consecutive manufacturers' titles. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire
for services to motorsport in 1996. McRae was piloting a helicopter which he inadvertently caused to crash in September 2007—the accident also claimed the lives of his son and two family friends.
In November 2008 he was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
.
in 1995, partly through his friendship with David Coulthard
. However, as his young family grew up, he spent more time back at his home in Lanarkshire
— accepting the higher tax liability of living in Scotland. The couple bought the 17th century Jerviswood House.
Car Club, McRae discovered autotesting, he soon traded his bike for a Mini Cooper and started competing. A year later, he began to negotiate with another club member to use his Hillman Avenger
for the Kames
Stages, a single-staged rally venue not far from McRae's home. McRae finished the event fourteenth; first in his class although he had run most of the event in a higher position.
In 1986, driving a Talbot Sunbeam, McRae entered the Scottish Rally Championship
and soon made a name for himself with his speed and exciting style of driving. His driving style drew many comparisons to Finnish
ex-World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen
, who McRae had always idolised. In 1988 he performed a giant-killing act when he took the Scottish Rally Championship series crown in a humble Vauxhall Nova. Craving more power, his next car was a Ford Sierra XR 4x4
.
His first WRC event was the 1987 Swedish Rally
behind the wheel of his Nova, and again two years later, driving the Sierra and finishing 15th overall. Later that year, he finished 5th overall at Rally New Zealand
in a rear wheel drive Sierra Cosworth. By 1990 McRae was driving a Sierra Cosworth 4x4 and achieved sixth place in that year's RAC Rally, despite several accidents. 1991 saw McRae turn professional as he was signed by Prodrive
boss David Richards
to his Subaru
team in the British Rally Championship
for an annual wage of approximately £10,000. McRae was British Rally Champion in both 1991 and 1992, soon graduating to the Subaru factory team at World Rally Championship
level. 1992 also saw Colin McRae make his début in the British Touring Car Championship
, with a one-off appearance for the Prodrive-run BMW factory team at the Knockhill round. In the second of the two races of the event, McRae collided with Matt Neal
. Race officials found McRae to have caused an avoidable collision and subsequently disqualified him.
On his promotion for 1993, McRae initially drove the Prodrive
-built Group A
Subaru Legacy
alongside Finns
Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola
and Markku Alén
. McRae then won his first WRC rally in the car at that year's Rally New Zealand
. It was also the first rally win for the newly formed Subaru World Rally Team, shortly before the Legacy was due to be pensioned off in favour of the new Subaru Impreza 555
. Such were the rising fortunes of his young Subaru factory team as they competed against the frontrunning TTE ran Toyotas, aided by the latter team's exclusion from the championship after the 1995 Rally Catalunya
where it was discovered that the Japanese team had been using illegal turbocharger
s, it took only until 1995 for McRae to win the drivers title, which he secured with victory in a straight contest with his double champion team-mate, Carlos Sainz
, on the season-ending Rally of Great Britain. Although still a winner with the outfit in individual rallies in succeeding years, including, increasingly, more specialised events such as the Acropolis Rally, Safari Rally
and the Tour de Corse
, McRae could not better second place in the standings in either 1996 or 1997, on both occasions behind Finland and Mitsubishi
Ralliart's Tommi Mäkinen
. He helped Subaru complete their run of three consecutive manufacturers' titles during this time. In what would turn out to be his final season with the team, in 1998 he won three more rallies and placed third in the standings, as well as winning the Race of Champions
in Gran Canaria
, the Canary Islands
.
After several years of varying success, McRae switched to the M-Sport
-run Ford factory team for 1999, driving the new Ford Focus rally car
. The deal saw McRae earning six million pounds over two years, which at the time made him the highest earning rally driver in history. This move was immediately rewarded with two consecutive wins at the Safari Rally
and Rally Portugal. A number of shunts and reliability issues for the new car for much of the rest of that season, however, resulted in only sixth place in the championship standings overall. Moreover, a rare personal pointless run had begun for McRae that year which was only to be halted with a podium on the following February's Swedish Rally
, the beginning of a recovery which saw McRae victorious in on the asphalt turns of Catalunya and the gravel of Greece, and post 4th in the 2000 overall standings. Midway through the 2000 season, the lacking reliability of the Focus had led to McRae threatening to leave the team if the problems continued. The upturn towards the end of the season resulted in him deciding to renew his contract with Ford for a further two years. McRae's intermittent success with Ford continued into 2001, where after failing to score in any of the first four rounds, including having momentarily led defending winner Tommi Makinen
on the stages of the season opening Monte Carlo Rally
prior to being forced into retirement, he then went on to score three consecutive victories in Argentina
, Cyprus
and Greece to tie with Mäkinen at the top of the points table. However, having again led the championship outright entering the final round in Great Britain, McRae once more missed out on a possible second title, crashing out and finishing second in the drivers championship, two points behind Subaru
's Richard Burns
.
With victory in the Safari Rally
in 2002, McRae made the record books as the driver with most event wins in the World Rally Championship. His record has since been broken by Carlos Sainz
, Sébastien Loeb
and Marcus Grönholm
. McRae's contract with Ford came to an end following the 2002 season, and after reportedly asking for wages of five million pounds a year, Ford decided against renewing the contract, reluctant to commit such a high amount of their budget to a drivers salary. The two parties split on amicable terms, with Ford's European director of motorsport Martin Whitaker stating "On behalf of all of us at Ford Motor Company I would like to publicly thank Colin and Nicky for their efforts during the past four years with the Ford team… I wish them both well in the future." McRae said of his time with Ford "It's been a very successful four years, we've achieved a lot of very good results and I'm quite happy that myself and Ford have had a very successful partnership."
but otherwise undertaking its first complete campaign at World Rally Championship level. McRae's second place finish on his début in Monte Carlo
alongside Loeb and Carlos Sainz
whom, aboard the Xsara WRC, helped complete a 1-2-3 finish, transpired to be the finest result he would achieve for the team, for the season was to end with seventh in the drivers' championship, with no victories. Rule changes that were to be brought in for the 2004 season changed the previous practice of having three nominated points-scorers within a team to two. With Loeb partway through a multiple year contract, this meant the Citroën factory team, under Guy Frequelin
's leadership, were forced to choose between dropping McRae or Sainz. With Sainz being the more successful of the two during the 2003 season, it was McRae who had to look elsewhere for 2004. David Richards, McRae's former boss at Subaru, who had by now taken over WRC's commercial rights holders ISC and worried that the loss of a character like McRae would damage his ability to market the sport, set about trying to help McRae find a drive for 2004. McRae was unable to find a team, and for the first time in over ten years he would not be competing in the World Rally Championship.
As the only other potential alternative suitors, Subaru instead eventually chose Mikko Hirvonen
to partner Petter Solberg
, McRae found himself without a drive for the 2004 season. He instead pursued other interests, including competing in the Dakar Rally
and the 24 Hours of Le Mans
(see below).
In 2004 and 2005 McRae represented Great Britain in the Race of Champions
alongside Formula One
driver and fellow Scot, David Coulthard
. For the 2006 event England and Scotland entered separate teams with McRae and Coulthard re-uniting to represent Scotland.
McRae then returned to the series for one off drives for Skoda
on the 2005 Rally GB
and Rally Australia
, respectively finishing seventh and retiring due to a clutch
problem on the final leg
of the rally, the latter dashing hopes for what may otherwise have been only the team's second ever podium place after the 2001 Safari Rally
.
On 5 August 2006, McRae competed for Subaru in the first live televised American rally in Los Angeles as part of the X-Games. McRae rolled the car on the penultimate corner after landing awkwardly from a jump, which damaged the front bumper and left front tyre. Despite this, McRae kept the car running and continued on to the finish, his time only 0.13 seconds slower than eventual winner Travis Pastrana. McRae was, though, to have one more opportunity at world championship level: he was unexpectedly entered for his final rally by semi-works Kronos Citroën at Rally Turkey in September, where he replaced Sébastien Loeb
while the Frenchman recovered from an injury he sustained in a cycling accident immediately prior to the event. A final-stage alternator problem consigned him and returning co-driver Nicky Grist
, to a final placing outside the top ten.
McRae's competitive spirit also led him to compete in racing series other than the WRC
. In September 2002 he tried his hand at oval racing when he took part in the Ascar (UK version of NASCAR
) race at the Rockingham Motor Speedway
, Northamptonshire
; eventually finishing in sixth place.
McRae rejoined Prodrive
for the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans
where he took third place in the GTS class, and ninth position overall in a Ferrari 550
-GTS Maranello partnering Darren Turner
and Rickard Rydell
. Fellow countryman, and Le Mans winner Allan McNish
commented that "Colin has adapted far better than people expected" to endurance sportscar racing.
McRae, made his debut on the gruelling Dakar
Rally Raid with Nissan in January 2004, and impressed the team by scoring two stage wins on his way to a memorable finish on the gruelling trans-Sahara event. He returned to the Dakar
in 2005 and was fastest on two of the first three stages in Morocco
, before crashing out of the rally towards the end of stage six.
In August 2007, McRae claimed to still be working on finding a seat for the 2008 WRC season, stating that "if it doesn't happen next year, then I won't (return) because you can only be out of something at that level for so long."
released the first Colin McRae Rally
video game in 1998. Version 2, known as Colin McRae 2.0, was released in the year 2000, for Sony
's PlayStation
and for the PC; it was also ported
to the Game Boy Advance
in 2002. A third version found a wide audience on the PC and Xbox
. Versions 04 and 2005 arrived in 2004 on all major platforms. 2005 was also remade for Sony
's PSP
and Nokia
's N-Gage
. Colin McRae: Dirt
was the title for the next instalment of the series, which launched in 2007 for the PC, Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3
. The PlayStation 3 edition was released in the UK on 14 September, the day before McRae's death. A special edition for mobile phones will also be available from Codemasters Mobile.
Colin McRae: Dirt 2
was released on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on 11 September 2009, the PC version was released on 8 December 2009. Colin McRae: Dirt 3 was released in Europe and North America on the 24 May 2011, and two days later in Australia for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Colin McRae chose the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed
to unveil the McRae R4, which had been conceived at the beginning of 2005. The intention was to make a cheaper alternative to WRCs (World Rally Cars) with significantly lower running costs. The McRae R4 was designed for use in rallying, rally cross, circuit racing and ice racing events, with the possibility of a one-make race series.
Designed by Colin McRae and Dave Plant and built by DJM Race Preparation, the McRae R4's chassis is based on a steel safety cage with carbon panelling front and rear, and a steel-covered cockpit area. Suspension consists of twin wishbones with Proflex dampers. The body styling has been done by Keith Burden and Tom Webster. It appears that some components of the vehicle have been taken from existing production cars, the doorline in particular appears very close to that of the Ford Ka.
The engine is a naturally aspirated, 4-cylinder, 2.5-litre Millington Diamond Engine producing 350 BHP. Transmission is via a six-speed gearbox, manual or semi-auto, and by mechanical front and rear differentials with the option of mechanical or active central differential. The car can be produced in either 2 or 4 wheel drive formats.
Alison McRae has said that she would like production of the car to continue following Colin's death.
The R4 appears in Codemasters
titles Colin McRae: DiRT
, Colin McRae: DiRT 2
and DiRT 3
, Scotland, close to the McRae family home. McRae was piloting the helicopter (with an expired license) at the time of the crash. McRae's five-year-old son Johnny, and two family friends, Graeme Duncan and Johnny's six-year-old friend Ben Porcelli, also died in the crash. McRae's previously active website, ColinMcRae.com, was later replaced with a memorial screen stating a few details about the crash, and then with a short statement released on behalf of McRae's father, Jimmy, and later a book of condolences.
, a popular funeral song. Also, the song "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay
" by Otis Redding
, a favourite song of McRae's, was played when the family entered the chapel; and The Proclaimers
' song "I'm on My Way
" was played when they left. Colin and Johnny McRae were cremated in the same coffin. Among the attendees at the funeral were fellow Scottish racing drivers Jackie Stewart
and Dario Franchitti
.
A "Celebration of Life" service took place at St Nicholas Church in Lanark on Sunday 30 September at 4 pm. Images from McRae's career and personal life were displayed on large video screens outside the church. Around 700 mourners filled the church, with crowds of up to 15,000 outside. Shortly before 4pm, a lone bagpiper played "Flower of Scotland
" as the family arrived at the church. The service was conducted by the Rev Alison Meikle, who said "Two weeks ago Lanark was struck by silence. A terrible silence bought at an enormous price. However, in our tears love is stronger than death." Later, the Kenny Rogers
and Dolly Parton
song "Islands in the Stream
", a favourite of Johnny's, was played. Friends of the pair shared poems and anecdotes from the McRaes' lives. After the service, Colin McRae's widow, brother and father bowed and applauded the crowds who had gathered outside to pay tribute to the McRaes.
McRae's death was met by much grief from former colleagues, rivals and fans alike. Formula One
driver David Coulthard
, a good friend of McRae, who was due to represent Scotland along with him in the Race of Champions
at Wembley Stadium
on 16 December, described him as "an understated yet fantastically talented individual", he also announced that he would race the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix
with a helmet paint design similar to that of McRae's as a tribute. During the finale of the 2007 Scottish Rally Championship
, the "Colin McRae Forest Stages" held in Perth
in September 2007, there was no number 1 car as McRae had been due to drive the course car on the event. Instead, his car was parked at the starting point of the rally, where fans were able to sign a book of condolences.
Following his win at the Brands Hatch
meeting of the 2007 World Touring Car Championship season
, Andy Priaulx
dedicated it to McRae, commenting that his death "shows how fragile life can be". McRae's former rival, four-time World Rally Champion Tommi Mäkinen
commented the helicopter accident as terrifying news, and described McRae as "a pleasant fellow and a tough rival". Valentino Rossi
, who was taught the basics of driving a rally car by McRae, said he was shocked and saddened by the sudden departure of the former World Rally Champion. Valentino dedicated his win at Estoril MotoGp in 2007 to Colin McRae saying to the media "I want to dedicate this to Colin McRae. He was one of my big idols when I was very young and it's because of him I have a big passion for rally".
As a mark of respect for McRae, the Swedish Rally
organisers set up an award for the longest jump over a crest on the Vargåsen stage of the rally. The inaugural winner of the award, named Colin's Crest, was Ford's
United Arab Emirates
driver Khalid al-Qassimi
who recorded a distance of 30 m.
On 27 September 2008 the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally took place in Perth, Scotland. An enhanced entry list of several former big name rally drivers took part in memory of Colin. The impressive entry list included ex-World Championship drivers Hannu Mikkola
, Ari Vatanen
(partnered by his 1981 WRC winning co-driver David Richards
), Björn Waldegård
, Stig Blomqvist
, Malcolm Wilson
, Russell Brookes
, Jimmy McRae
, Andrew Cowan
and Louise Aitken-Walker
, many competing in their original cars. A handful of current WRC drivers also took part including Matthew Wilson
, Kris Meeke
and Travis Pastrana
. The event was deemed a great success, attracting record spectator numbers to the Perthshire forests. Outright winner was Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
driver Matthew Wilson in a Ford Focus WRC. Fittingly, Colin's brother Alister McRae
won the classic category.
In video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2
there is a race series named "Colin McRae Challenge" that is dedicated to him. Winning the race unlocks a video that is a tribute to him.
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
attended the scene in co-operation with Strathclyde Police. The wreckage of the helicopter was removed to Farnborough
for further forensic investigation. Pilots operate under strict regulations, and are expected in the case of helicopters under CAA rules to undertake a competency test every year, and to renew their licenses every five years — not to do so is illegal. It later emerged that McRae had not undertaken a competency check as required in March 2006, and that effectively his license had expired in February 2005. A CAA spokesman commented "The investigators must determine why he (McRae) hasn't kept up to date with his documentation. There is no suggestion that Mr McRae was not a competent pilot."
A report into the accident was published on 12 February 2009. In it, the AAIB did not reach a definite conclusion as to the cause of the accident, stating instead that "the helicopter crashed in a wooded valley while manoeuvering at high speed and low height. It was intact prior to impact, and the available evidence indicated that the engine was delivering power. The cause of the accident was not positively determined. Although no technical reason was found to explain the accident, a technical fault could not be ruled out entirely. However, it is more likely that the pilot attempted a turning manoeuvre at low height, during which the helicopter deviated from his intended flight path; whether due to the pilot encountering handling difficulties, misjudgement, spatial disorientation, distraction or a combination of such events. There were indications that the pilot had started a recovery but, with insufficient height in which to complete it, the helicopter struck trees in the valley and crashed, killing all four occupants."
A Fatal Accident Inquiry
into the incident concluded, on 6 September 2011, that McRae was at fault for the avoidable helicopter crash that led to his death and the death of his passengers. Sheriff Nikola Stewart stated, after the 16-day inquiry, that McRae had been engaged in "unnecessary and unsafe" low-level flying at the time of the crash.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007) was a Scottish rally
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
driver born in Lanark
Lanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....
.
The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae
Jimmy McRae
Jimmy McRae is a Scottish rally driver. He is the father of World Rally Championship drivers Alister McRae, and the late 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae...
and brother of rally driver Alister McRae
Alister McRae
Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae...
, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion
British Rally Championship
The Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship is a yearly rallying series based in the United Kingdom. It comprises seven events with eight scoring opportunities throughout the British Isles. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the MSA Motor Sports Association since...
and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
Drivers' title. He still holds that record.
McRae's outstanding performance on the Subaru World Rally Team
Subaru World Rally Team
The Subaru World Rally Team was Subaru's World Rally Championship team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003...
enabled the team to win the World Rally Championship Constructors' title three times in succession in 1995, 1996 and 1997. After a four-year spell with the Ford Motor Co. team, which saw McRae win nine events, he moved to Citroën World Rally Team in 2003 where, despite not winning an event, he helped them win the first of their three consecutive manufacturers' titles. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for services to motorsport in 1996. McRae was piloting a helicopter which he inadvertently caused to crash in September 2007—the accident also claimed the lives of his son and two family friends.
In November 2008 he was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
The Scottish Sports Hall of Fame is the national sports hall of fame in Scotland, initiated on St Andrew's Day 2001. It is a joint project organised by sportscotland, the national governmental body for Scottish sport, and the National Museums of Scotland. It is also funded by BBC Scotland and...
.
Personal and early life
McRae was married to Alison, and had two children, Hollie and Johnny. McRae moved to the principality of MonacoMonaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
in 1995, partly through his friendship with David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
. However, as his young family grew up, he spent more time back at his home in Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
— accepting the higher tax liability of living in Scotland. The couple bought the 17th century Jerviswood House.
Early career
Colin McRae began his competitive career in motorsport riding trial bikes at an early age, despite being more interested in four wheeled machines rather than two wheel bikes. At the age of sixteen, through the ColtnessColtness
Coltness is the largest suburb of the town of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The 2001 census indicated a population of almost 4,500.Lying to the north east of the town centre, Coltness is an area of mainly local authority built housing, divided into the two distinct areas of East and West...
Car Club, McRae discovered autotesting, he soon traded his bike for a Mini Cooper and started competing. A year later, he began to negotiate with another club member to use his Hillman Avenger
Hillman Avenger
The Hillman Avenger was a rear-wheel drive small family car originally manufactured under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group from 1970–1976, and made by Chrysler Europe from 1976–1981 as the Chrysler Avenger and finally the Talbot Avenger...
for the Kames
Kames
Kames may refer to:People* Henry Home, Lord Kames, Scottish philosopher* Abdesalam Kames, Libyan footballer* Bob Kames, American organist* Kambūjia, otherwise Cambyses of Persia* Kamose, last Egyptian pharaoh of the Seventeenth dynasty of EgyptPlaces...
Stages, a single-staged rally venue not far from McRae's home. McRae finished the event fourteenth; first in his class although he had run most of the event in a higher position.
In 1986, driving a Talbot Sunbeam, McRae entered the Scottish Rally Championship
Scottish Rally Championship
The Scottish Rally Championship is a rallying series run throughout Scotland over the course of a year, that comprises seven gravel rallies and one tarmac event . Points are awarded to the top placed drivers and the driver scoring the highest number of points over the season is declared Champion...
and soon made a name for himself with his speed and exciting style of driving. His driving style drew many comparisons to Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
ex-World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen
Ari Vatanen
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and Member of the European Parliament 1999–2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times....
, who McRae had always idolised. In 1988 he performed a giant-killing act when he took the Scottish Rally Championship series crown in a humble Vauxhall Nova. Craving more power, his next car was a Ford Sierra XR 4x4
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a large family car that was built by Ford Europe from 1982 until 1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément. The code used during development was "Project Toni"....
.
His first WRC event was the 1987 Swedish Rally
Swedish Rally
The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...
behind the wheel of his Nova, and again two years later, driving the Sierra and finishing 15th overall. Later that year, he finished 5th overall at Rally New Zealand
Rally New Zealand
The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977...
in a rear wheel drive Sierra Cosworth. By 1990 McRae was driving a Sierra Cosworth 4x4 and achieved sixth place in that year's RAC Rally, despite several accidents. 1991 saw McRae turn professional as he was signed by Prodrive
Prodrive
Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...
boss David Richards
David Richards (racing)
David Pender Richards CBE is the chairman of Prodrive and Aston Martin, and a former team principal of the BAR and Benetton Formula One motor racing teams. He lives with his wife, Karen, in Warwickshire and has three children....
to his Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
team in the British Rally Championship
British Rally Championship
The Dulux Trade MSA British Rally Championship is a yearly rallying series based in the United Kingdom. It comprises seven events with eight scoring opportunities throughout the British Isles. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the MSA Motor Sports Association since...
for an annual wage of approximately £10,000. McRae was British Rally Champion in both 1991 and 1992, soon graduating to the Subaru factory team at World Rally Championship
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
level. 1992 also saw Colin McRae make his début in the British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...
, with a one-off appearance for the Prodrive-run BMW factory team at the Knockhill round. In the second of the two races of the event, McRae collided with Matt Neal
Matt Neal
Matthew Neal is a British motor racing driver. He won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. He has also won a European Touring Car Championship race. He is 6' 6" tall, making him almost entirely unable to race single-seaters...
. Race officials found McRae to have caused an avoidable collision and subsequently disqualified him.
1993–1998: Subaru
On his promotion for 1993, McRae initially drove the Prodrive
Prodrive
Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...
-built Group A
Group A
In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A referred to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for outright competition. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, the Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed...
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Legacy
The Subaru Legacy is a mid-size car built by the Japanese company Fuji Heavy Industries, and manufactured by its division Subaru since 1989, and is available as a sedan or wagon. Part of the original design goals for the Legacy model was to provide Subaru a vehicle in which they could compete in...
alongside Finns
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola
Hannu Mikkola
Hannu Olavi Mikkola is a retired world champion rally driver. He was a seven time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times.- Career :...
and Markku Alén
Markku Alén
Markku Allan Alén is a Finnish former rally and race car driver. He drove for Fiat, Lancia, Subaru and Toyota in the World Rally Championship, and held the record for most stage wins in the series until 2011...
. McRae then won his first WRC rally in the car at that year's Rally New Zealand
Rally New Zealand
The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977...
. It was also the first rally win for the newly formed Subaru World Rally Team, shortly before the Legacy was due to be pensioned off in favour of the new Subaru Impreza 555
Subaru Impreza
Introduced in November 1993, the Impreza was offered in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions and as a four-door sedan/saloon or five-door station wagon/estate. According to a Motor Trend article written March 1992 on page 26, the name of Subaru's new compact was, initially, to be...
. Such were the rising fortunes of his young Subaru factory team as they competed against the frontrunning TTE ran Toyotas, aided by the latter team's exclusion from the championship after the 1995 Rally Catalunya
Rally Catalunya
The Rally Catalunya is a rally competition on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Catalonia, Spain, it was previously held around the region of Costa Brava...
where it was discovered that the Japanese team had been using illegal turbocharger
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...
s, it took only until 1995 for McRae to win the drivers title, which he secured with victory in a straight contest with his double champion team-mate, Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz Cenamor is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times...
, on the season-ending Rally of Great Britain. Although still a winner with the outfit in individual rallies in succeeding years, including, increasingly, more specialised events such as the Acropolis Rally, Safari Rally
Safari Rally
The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...
and the Tour de Corse
Tour de Corse
The Tour de Corse - Rallye de France is a rally first held in 1956 on the island of Corsica. It was part of the World Rally Championship from the inaugural 1973 season to 2008. The name "Tour de Corse" refers to the fact that in the early days it was run around the island; nowadays it only features...
, McRae could not better second place in the standings in either 1996 or 1997, on both occasions behind Finland and Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
Ralliart's Tommi Mäkinen
Tommi Mäkinen
"Turbo" Tommi Antero Mäkinen , tied with Juha Kankkunen and behind Sébastien Loeb , and fifth in wins .He is a four-time World Rally Champion, a series he first won, and then successfully defended, continuously throughout 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, on all occasions driving the Ralliart Mitsubishi...
. He helped Subaru complete their run of three consecutive manufacturers' titles during this time. In what would turn out to be his final season with the team, in 1998 he won three more rallies and placed third in the standings, as well as winning the Race of Champions
Race of Champions
The Race of Champions is an international motorsport event held at the end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers...
in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
1999–2002: Ford
M-Sport
M-Sport is a large and successful motorsport team based in Cockermouth, Cumbria in England. Formed in 1979 by former WRC driver Malcolm Wilson, and originally known as Malcolm Wilson Motorsport, the team has had varying success running cars in several rally championships...
-run Ford factory team for 1999, driving the new Ford Focus rally car
Ford Focus WRC
The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification...
. The deal saw McRae earning six million pounds over two years, which at the time made him the highest earning rally driver in history. This move was immediately rewarded with two consecutive wins at the Safari Rally
Safari Rally
The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...
and Rally Portugal. A number of shunts and reliability issues for the new car for much of the rest of that season, however, resulted in only sixth place in the championship standings overall. Moreover, a rare personal pointless run had begun for McRae that year which was only to be halted with a podium on the following February's Swedish Rally
Swedish Rally
The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...
, the beginning of a recovery which saw McRae victorious in on the asphalt turns of Catalunya and the gravel of Greece, and post 4th in the 2000 overall standings. Midway through the 2000 season, the lacking reliability of the Focus had led to McRae threatening to leave the team if the problems continued. The upturn towards the end of the season resulted in him deciding to renew his contract with Ford for a further two years. McRae's intermittent success with Ford continued into 2001, where after failing to score in any of the first four rounds, including having momentarily led defending winner Tommi Makinen
Tommi Mäkinen
"Turbo" Tommi Antero Mäkinen , tied with Juha Kankkunen and behind Sébastien Loeb , and fifth in wins .He is a four-time World Rally Champion, a series he first won, and then successfully defended, continuously throughout 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, on all occasions driving the Ralliart Mitsubishi...
on the stages of the season opening Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
prior to being forced into retirement, he then went on to score three consecutive victories in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Greece to tie with Mäkinen at the top of the points table. However, having again led the championship outright entering the final round in Great Britain, McRae once more missed out on a possible second title, crashing out and finishing second in the drivers championship, two points behind Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
's Richard Burns
Richard Burns
Richard Alexander Burns was an English rally driver. He was born in Reading, Berkshire. He was the 2001 World Rally Champion, having previously finished runner-up in the series in 1999 and 2000. He also helped Mitsubishi to the world manufacturers' title in 1998, and Peugeot in 2002...
.
With victory in the Safari Rally
Safari Rally
The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...
in 2002, McRae made the record books as the driver with most event wins in the World Rally Championship. His record has since been broken by Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz Cenamor is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times...
, Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb is a French rally driver currently driving for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship...
and Marcus Grönholm
Marcus Grönholm
Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm is a Finnish former rally driver. Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the...
. McRae's contract with Ford came to an end following the 2002 season, and after reportedly asking for wages of five million pounds a year, Ford decided against renewing the contract, reluctant to commit such a high amount of their budget to a drivers salary. The two parties split on amicable terms, with Ford's European director of motorsport Martin Whitaker stating "On behalf of all of us at Ford Motor Company I would like to publicly thank Colin and Nicky for their efforts during the past four years with the Ford team… I wish them both well in the future." McRae said of his time with Ford "It's been a very successful four years, we've achieved a lot of very good results and I'm quite happy that myself and Ford have had a very successful partnership."
2003: Citroën
For 2003, McRae signed for Citroën, a team of winning pedigree due to its successes of the previous year with young Frenchman Sébastien LoebSébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb is a French rally driver currently driving for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship...
but otherwise undertaking its first complete campaign at World Rally Championship level. McRae's second place finish on his début in Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
alongside Loeb and Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz Cenamor is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times...
whom, aboard the Xsara WRC, helped complete a 1-2-3 finish, transpired to be the finest result he would achieve for the team, for the season was to end with seventh in the drivers' championship, with no victories. Rule changes that were to be brought in for the 2004 season changed the previous practice of having three nominated points-scorers within a team to two. With Loeb partway through a multiple year contract, this meant the Citroën factory team, under Guy Frequelin
Guy Fréquelin
Guy Fréquelin is a former French rally and sports car driver.Perhaps Fréquelin's finest hour as a driver came when he finished runner-up only to Ari Vatanen, alongside then-navigator Jean Todt, at the wheel of a briefly competitive Sunbeam Lotus Talbot in the driver's classification of the 1981...
's leadership, were forced to choose between dropping McRae or Sainz. With Sainz being the more successful of the two during the 2003 season, it was McRae who had to look elsewhere for 2004. David Richards, McRae's former boss at Subaru, who had by now taken over WRC's commercial rights holders ISC and worried that the loss of a character like McRae would damage his ability to market the sport, set about trying to help McRae find a drive for 2004. McRae was unable to find a team, and for the first time in over ten years he would not be competing in the World Rally Championship.
Later career
Mikko Hirvonen
Mikko Hirvonen is a Finnish rally driver currently driving for the Citroën Total World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009 and 2011, he finished runner-up to...
to partner Petter Solberg
Petter Solberg
Petter "Hollywood" Solberg , from Spydeberg in Østfold, Norway, is a professional rally driver. He debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford factory team in 1999...
, McRae found himself without a drive for the 2004 season. He instead pursued other interests, including competing in the Dakar Rally
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid type of off-road automobile race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation...
and the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
(see below).
In 2004 and 2005 McRae represented Great Britain in the Race of Champions
Race of Champions
The Race of Champions is an international motorsport event held at the end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers...
alongside Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
driver and fellow Scot, David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
. For the 2006 event England and Scotland entered separate teams with McRae and Coulthard re-uniting to represent Scotland.
McRae then returned to the series for one off drives for Skoda
Škoda Auto
Škoda Auto , more commonly known as Škoda, is an automobile manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. Škoda became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group in 2000, positioned as the entry brand to the group...
on the 2005 Rally GB
Rally GB
Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship and was formerly a round of the MSA British Rally Championship and is based in and around the city of Cardiff in Wales...
and Rally Australia
Rally Australia
Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth, Western Australia from 1988 until 2006, when that state's tourism commission severed its collaboration with the event. The rally was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the World Rally Championship...
, respectively finishing seventh and retiring due to a clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
problem on the final leg
Leg (rallying)
In rallying, a leg is each day of the whole event. For example, as of 2005 each WRC event lasts over 3 legs - from Friday over Saturday to Sunday ....
of the rally, the latter dashing hopes for what may otherwise have been only the team's second ever podium place after the 2001 Safari Rally
Safari Rally
The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...
.
On 5 August 2006, McRae competed for Subaru in the first live televised American rally in Los Angeles as part of the X-Games. McRae rolled the car on the penultimate corner after landing awkwardly from a jump, which damaged the front bumper and left front tyre. Despite this, McRae kept the car running and continued on to the finish, his time only 0.13 seconds slower than eventual winner Travis Pastrana. McRae was, though, to have one more opportunity at world championship level: he was unexpectedly entered for his final rally by semi-works Kronos Citroën at Rally Turkey in September, where he replaced Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb
Sébastien Loeb is a French rally driver currently driving for the Citroën World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship...
while the Frenchman recovered from an injury he sustained in a cycling accident immediately prior to the event. A final-stage alternator problem consigned him and returning co-driver Nicky Grist
Nicky Grist
Nicky Grist is a Welsh former rally co-driver, born in Ebbw Vale. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1993 to 2002. He won 21 rallies and one World championship titles, with more than one driver....
, to a final placing outside the top ten.
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver and manufacturer. The driver's world championship and manufacturer's world championship are separate championships, but based on the same point system. The series currently consists of 13...
. In September 2002 he tried his hand at oval racing when he took part in the Ascar (UK version of NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
) race at the Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham is the UK's most modern motorsport venue and Europe's fastest racing circuit, hosting corporate driving days, driver training, conferencing & exhibitions, vehicle manufacturing events, track days, testing, driving experiences and motorsport...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
; eventually finishing in sixth place.
McRae rejoined Prodrive
Prodrive
Prodrive is a British motorsport and automotive engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. It designs, constructs and races cars for companies and teams such as Subaru, Aston Martin and Ford...
for the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans
2004 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 72nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13 2004.-Race:With the end of the Bentley project, there were no official factory teams at this years race, theoretically leaving it open to anyone...
where he took third place in the GTS class, and ninth position overall in a Ferrari 550
Ferrari 550
The Ferrari 550 Maranello and 550 Barchetta are 2-seat grand tourers built by Ferrari. Introduced in 1996, the 550 was an upmarket front-engined V12 coupe of the kind not seen since the Daytona. It shared its platform and 5.5 L engine with the 2+2 456 but was positioned as the company's...
-GTS Maranello partnering Darren Turner
Darren Turner
Darren Turner is an English racing driver. He was McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year in 1996. He is a former test driver for the McLaren Formula One team, but has raced primarily in touring cars and sportscars since 2000. He spent 2 years in the DTM for Keke Rosberg's...
and Rickard Rydell
Rickard Rydell
Rickard Rydell is a Swedish racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Championship.-Early career:In the early 1990s, Rydell raced in various Formula Three series...
. Fellow countryman, and Le Mans winner Allan McNish
Allan McNish
Allan McNish is a Scottish racing driver. He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2008, and two-time American Le Mans Series champion.- Early life :...
commented that "Colin has adapted far better than people expected" to endurance sportscar racing.
McRae, made his debut on the gruelling Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
Rally Raid with Nissan in January 2004, and impressed the team by scoring two stage wins on his way to a memorable finish on the gruelling trans-Sahara event. He returned to the Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
in 2005 and was fastest on two of the first three stages in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, before crashing out of the rally towards the end of stage six.
In August 2007, McRae claimed to still be working on finding a seat for the 2008 WRC season, stating that "if it doesn't happen next year, then I won't (return) because you can only be out of something at that level for so long."
Colin McRae Rally
CodemastersCodemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
released the first Colin McRae Rally
Colin McRae Rally
Colin McRae Rally and more recently; Dirt, is a racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters.Started in 1998, the franchise has been a critical and commercial success and is generally acknowledged as a pioneer of realistic rally sports racing games...
video game in 1998. Version 2, known as Colin McRae 2.0, was released in the year 2000, for Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
and for the PC; it was also ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
in 2002. A third version found a wide audience on the PC and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. Versions 04 and 2005 arrived in 2004 on all major platforms. 2005 was also remade for Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
's N-Gage
N-Gage
The N-Gage is a mobile telephone and handheld game system by Nokia, based on the Nokia Series 60 platform, released in October 2003. It began sales on October 7, 2003. The N-Gage QD replaced the original N-Gage in 2004....
. Colin McRae: Dirt
Colin McRae: Dirt
Colin McRae: Dirt has received largely positive reviews, IGN UK and U.S. awarding it a 9.0 and a 8.4, respectively. It has also received 9.0 from Official Xbox Magazine, 8.3 from GameSpot for the Xbox 360 and PC versions and 8.5 for the PlayStation 3 version, and 8 from Edge...
was the title for the next instalment of the series, which launched in 2007 for the PC, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The PlayStation 3 edition was released in the UK on 14 September, the day before McRae's death. A special edition for mobile phones will also be available from Codemasters Mobile.
Colin McRae: Dirt 2
Colin McRae: Dirt 2
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 is a racing game released in September 2009, and is the sequel to Colin McRae: Dirt. This is the first game in the McRae series since McRae's death in 2007. It was announced on 19 November 2008 and features Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, and Dave Mirra...
was released on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on 11 September 2009, the PC version was released on 8 December 2009. Colin McRae: Dirt 3 was released in Europe and North America on the 24 May 2011, and two days later in Australia for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Colin McRae R4
Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Goodwood Festival of Speed, commonly abbreviated as FoS and referred within the United Kingdom as simply the Festival of Speed, is an annual hill climb featuring historic motor racing vehicles that is held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England.Typically held in late June or...
to unveil the McRae R4, which had been conceived at the beginning of 2005. The intention was to make a cheaper alternative to WRCs (World Rally Cars) with significantly lower running costs. The McRae R4 was designed for use in rallying, rally cross, circuit racing and ice racing events, with the possibility of a one-make race series.
Designed by Colin McRae and Dave Plant and built by DJM Race Preparation, the McRae R4's chassis is based on a steel safety cage with carbon panelling front and rear, and a steel-covered cockpit area. Suspension consists of twin wishbones with Proflex dampers. The body styling has been done by Keith Burden and Tom Webster. It appears that some components of the vehicle have been taken from existing production cars, the doorline in particular appears very close to that of the Ford Ka.
The engine is a naturally aspirated, 4-cylinder, 2.5-litre Millington Diamond Engine producing 350 BHP. Transmission is via a six-speed gearbox, manual or semi-auto, and by mechanical front and rear differentials with the option of mechanical or active central differential. The car can be produced in either 2 or 4 wheel drive formats.
Alison McRae has said that she would like production of the car to continue following Colin's death.
The R4 appears in Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
titles Colin McRae: DiRT
Colin McRae: Dirt
Colin McRae: Dirt has received largely positive reviews, IGN UK and U.S. awarding it a 9.0 and a 8.4, respectively. It has also received 9.0 from Official Xbox Magazine, 8.3 from GameSpot for the Xbox 360 and PC versions and 8.5 for the PlayStation 3 version, and 8 from Edge...
, Colin McRae: DiRT 2
Colin McRae: Dirt 2
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 is a racing game released in September 2009, and is the sequel to Colin McRae: Dirt. This is the first game in the McRae series since McRae's death in 2007. It was announced on 19 November 2008 and features Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, and Dave Mirra...
and DiRT 3
Dirt 3
Dirt 3 is a rallying video game and the third in the Dirt series of the Colin McRae Rally series, developed and published by Codemasters. However, the "Colin McRae" tag has been completely removed from this iteration...
Death
McRae died on 15 September 2007 when his helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350, crashed 1 mile north of LanarkLanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....
, Scotland, close to the McRae family home. McRae was piloting the helicopter (with an expired license) at the time of the crash. McRae's five-year-old son Johnny, and two family friends, Graeme Duncan and Johnny's six-year-old friend Ben Porcelli, also died in the crash. McRae's previously active website, ColinMcRae.com, was later replaced with a memorial screen stating a few details about the crash, and then with a short statement released on behalf of McRae's father, Jimmy, and later a book of condolences.
Funeral and celebration services
The funeral for Colin and Johnny took place on 26 September at Daldowie Crematorium near Glasgow, conducted by the Rev Tom Houston, who had married the McRaes, and the Rev Steven Reid, chaplain at Johnny's school. An address was given by Robbie Head, a former rally driver and commentator who was a close friend of McRae's, with the Rev Houston giving the benediction. McRae's niece and nephews performed the tune Highland CathedralHighland Cathedral
Highland Cathedral is a popular melody for the great highland bagpipe.This melody was composed by German musicians Ulrich Roever and Michael Korb in 1982 for a Highland games held in Germany. It has been proposed as the Scottish national anthem to replace unofficial anthems Scotland the Brave...
, a popular funeral song. Also, the song "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay
(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay
" The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Otis Redding in 1967, just days before his death. It was released posthumously on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous number-one single in U.S...
" by Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, a favourite song of McRae's, was played when the family entered the chapel; and The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers
The Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...
' song "I'm on My Way
I'm on My Way (song)
I'm on My Way is a song written and recorded by Scottish pop duo The Proclaimers for their 1988 album Sunshine on Leith. In 1989, it was released as a single, which made it to #43 in great Britain...
" was played when they left. Colin and Johnny McRae were cremated in the same coffin. Among the attendees at the funeral were fellow Scottish racing drivers Jackie Stewart
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...
and Dario Franchitti
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti is a Scottish racing driver. He formerly competed in the CART series before switching to the IndyCar Series where he was 2007 champion, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. Franchitti is also a former NASCAR driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, competing...
.
A "Celebration of Life" service took place at St Nicholas Church in Lanark on Sunday 30 September at 4 pm. Images from McRae's career and personal life were displayed on large video screens outside the church. Around 700 mourners filled the church, with crowds of up to 15,000 outside. Shortly before 4pm, a lone bagpiper played "Flower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland
Flower of Scotland is a Scottish song, used frequently at special occasions and sporting events. Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland, Flower of Scotland is one of a number of songs which unofficially fulfil this role, along with the older Scots Wha Hae, Scotland the Brave...
" as the family arrived at the church. The service was conducted by the Rev Alison Meikle, who said "Two weeks ago Lanark was struck by silence. A terrible silence bought at an enormous price. However, in our tears love is stronger than death." Later, the Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
and Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
song "Islands in the Stream
Islands in the Stream
"Islands in the Stream" is the title of a song written by the Bee Gees and sung by American country music artists Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. It was released in August 1983 as the first single from Rogers' album Eyes That See in the Dark and the second pop number-one for both Rogers and Parton...
", a favourite of Johnny's, was played. Friends of the pair shared poems and anecdotes from the McRaes' lives. After the service, Colin McRae's widow, brother and father bowed and applauded the crowds who had gathered outside to pay tribute to the McRaes.
Reaction
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
driver David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
, a good friend of McRae, who was due to represent Scotland along with him in the Race of Champions
Race of Champions
The Race of Champions is an international motorsport event held at the end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
on 16 December, described him as "an understated yet fantastically talented individual", he also announced that he would race the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix
2007 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September, 2007 at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka. The race, contested over 67 laps, was the fifteenth round of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held at the recently revised track in very heavy rain and misty conditions...
with a helmet paint design similar to that of McRae's as a tribute. During the finale of the 2007 Scottish Rally Championship
Scottish Rally Championship
The Scottish Rally Championship is a rallying series run throughout Scotland over the course of a year, that comprises seven gravel rallies and one tarmac event . Points are awarded to the top placed drivers and the driver scoring the highest number of points over the season is declared Champion...
, the "Colin McRae Forest Stages" held in Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
in September 2007, there was no number 1 car as McRae had been due to drive the course car on the event. Instead, his car was parked at the starting point of the rally, where fans were able to sign a book of condolences.
Following his win at the Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...
meeting of the 2007 World Touring Car Championship season
2007 World Touring Car Championship season
The 2007 World Touring Car Championship season was the 4th season of FIA World Touring Car Championship motor racing. The championship, which commenced on March 11 and ended on November 18, after twenty-two races, was open to Super 2000 Cars, Diesel 2000 Cars and Super Production Cars as defined by...
, Andy Priaulx
Andy Priaulx
Andrew Graham Priaulx, MBE is a British racing driver from Guernsey. He is a European Touring Car Championship champion, three times World Touring Car Championship champion and the only FIA Touring Car champion to win an International level championship for four consecutive years...
dedicated it to McRae, commenting that his death "shows how fragile life can be". McRae's former rival, four-time World Rally Champion Tommi Mäkinen
Tommi Mäkinen
"Turbo" Tommi Antero Mäkinen , tied with Juha Kankkunen and behind Sébastien Loeb , and fifth in wins .He is a four-time World Rally Champion, a series he first won, and then successfully defended, continuously throughout 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999, on all occasions driving the Ralliart Mitsubishi...
commented the helicopter accident as terrifying news, and described McRae as "a pleasant fellow and a tough rival". Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...
, who was taught the basics of driving a rally car by McRae, said he was shocked and saddened by the sudden departure of the former World Rally Champion. Valentino dedicated his win at Estoril MotoGp in 2007 to Colin McRae saying to the media "I want to dedicate this to Colin McRae. He was one of my big idols when I was very young and it's because of him I have a big passion for rally".
As a mark of respect for McRae, the Swedish Rally
Swedish Rally
The Uddeholm Swedish Rally , formerly the Swedish Rally, is an automobile rally competition held in Värmland, Sweden in early February. First held in 1950, when it was called the Rally to the Midnight Sun with start and finish at separate locations, seventeen years later both start and finish...
organisers set up an award for the longest jump over a crest on the Vargåsen stage of the rally. The inaugural winner of the award, named Colin's Crest, was Ford's
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
driver Khalid al-Qassimi
Khalid al-Qassimi
Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal bin Sultan Al Qassimi is a rally driver from the United Arab Emirates. He won the FIA's Middle East Rally Championship in 2004 and currently competes in the World Rally Championship...
who recorded a distance of 30 m.
Hannu Mikkola
Hannu Olavi Mikkola is a retired world champion rally driver. He was a seven time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times.- Career :...
, Ari Vatanen
Ari Vatanen
Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and Member of the European Parliament 1999–2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rally four times....
(partnered by his 1981 WRC winning co-driver David Richards
David Richards (racing)
David Pender Richards CBE is the chairman of Prodrive and Aston Martin, and a former team principal of the BAR and Benetton Formula One motor racing teams. He lives with his wife, Karen, in Warwickshire and has three children....
), Björn Waldegård
Björn Waldegård
Björn Waldegård from Rimbo is a former Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979...
, Stig Blomqvist
Stig Blomqvist
"Stig" Lennart Blomqvist is a Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 and finished runner-up in 1985...
, Malcolm Wilson
Malcolm Wilson (rally)
Malcolm Irving Wilson, OBE is a British former rally driver. He is the father of current World Rally Championship driver Matthew Wilson....
, Russell Brookes
Russell Brookes
Russell Brookes is an English former rally driver. He won the British Rally Championship with a Ford Escort RS1800 in 1977 and with an Opel Manta 400 in 1985. In 1978, he won the Rally New Zealand, a round of the FIA Cup for Drivers, the predecessor to the World Championship for Drivers...
, Jimmy McRae
Jimmy McRae
Jimmy McRae is a Scottish rally driver. He is the father of World Rally Championship drivers Alister McRae, and the late 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae...
, Andrew Cowan
Andrew Cowan
Andrew Cowan is a Scottish former rally driver, and the founder and senior director of Mitsubishi Ralliart until his retirement on 30 November 2005.-Early years:...
and Louise Aitken-Walker
Louise Aitken-Walker
Louise Aitken-Walker MBE is a British rally and saloon car racing driver. Aitken-Walker entered competition in 1979 and finished 19th in her first Rally GB two years later...
, many competing in their original cars. A handful of current WRC drivers also took part including Matthew Wilson
Matthew Wilson
Matthew Wilson is an English rally driver from Cockermouth in Cumbria. He is the son of M-Sport boss and former WRC driver Malcolm Wilson. Wilson currently competes in the World Rally Championship for the Stobart M-Sport Ford team...
, Kris Meeke
Kris Meeke
Kris Meeke is a professional rally driver. He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His current co-driver is Paul Nagle...
and Travis Pastrana
Travis Pastrana
Travis Alan Pastrana is an American motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus with some of his friends...
. The event was deemed a great success, attracting record spectator numbers to the Perthshire forests. Outright winner was Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team
The M-Sport Stobart Ford World Rally Team, formerly Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team or also Stobart Motorsport World Rally Team is a rally team competing in the World Rally Championship sponsored by the Stobart Group...
driver Matthew Wilson in a Ford Focus WRC. Fittingly, Colin's brother Alister McRae
Alister McRae
Alister McRae is a Scottish rally driver, who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae...
won the classic category.
In video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2
Colin McRae: Dirt 2
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 is a racing game released in September 2009, and is the sequel to Colin McRae: Dirt. This is the first game in the McRae series since McRae's death in 2007. It was announced on 19 November 2008 and features Ken Block, Travis Pastrana, Tanner Foust, and Dave Mirra...
there is a race series named "Colin McRae Challenge" that is dedicated to him. Winning the race unlocks a video that is a tribute to him.
Investigation
After the crash, an investigative team from the UK Department for TransportDepartment for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigates air accidents in the United Kingdom. It is a branch of the Department for Transport and is based on the grounds of Farnborough Airport near Aldershot, Rushmoor, Hampshire.-History:...
attended the scene in co-operation with Strathclyde Police. The wreckage of the helicopter was removed to Farnborough
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...
for further forensic investigation. Pilots operate under strict regulations, and are expected in the case of helicopters under CAA rules to undertake a competency test every year, and to renew their licenses every five years — not to do so is illegal. It later emerged that McRae had not undertaken a competency check as required in March 2006, and that effectively his license had expired in February 2005. A CAA spokesman commented "The investigators must determine why he (McRae) hasn't kept up to date with his documentation. There is no suggestion that Mr McRae was not a competent pilot."
A report into the accident was published on 12 February 2009. In it, the AAIB did not reach a definite conclusion as to the cause of the accident, stating instead that "the helicopter crashed in a wooded valley while manoeuvering at high speed and low height. It was intact prior to impact, and the available evidence indicated that the engine was delivering power. The cause of the accident was not positively determined. Although no technical reason was found to explain the accident, a technical fault could not be ruled out entirely. However, it is more likely that the pilot attempted a turning manoeuvre at low height, during which the helicopter deviated from his intended flight path; whether due to the pilot encountering handling difficulties, misjudgement, spatial disorientation, distraction or a combination of such events. There were indications that the pilot had started a recovery but, with insufficient height in which to complete it, the helicopter struck trees in the valley and crashed, killing all four occupants."
A Fatal Accident Inquiry
Fatal accident inquiry
A fatal accident inquiry is a Scottish judicial process which investigates and determines the circumstances of some deaths occurring in Scotland...
into the incident concluded, on 6 September 2011, that McRae was at fault for the avoidable helicopter crash that led to his death and the death of his passengers. Sheriff Nikola Stewart stated, after the 16-day inquiry, that McRae had been engaged in "unnecessary and unsafe" low-level flying at the time of the crash.
Complete WRC results
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 1987 World Rally Championship season The 1987 World Rally Championship season was the 15th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies in the same venues of the previous season... |
Colin McRae | Vauxhall Nova | MON | SWE 36 |
POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | — | 0 | ||||
| British Junior Rally Team | Vauxhall Nova | GBR Ret |
||||||||||||||||||
| 1988 1988 World Rally Championship season The 1988 World Rally Championship season was the 16th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship... |
Peugeot Talbot Sport | Peugeot 205 GTI | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | GBR Ret |
— | 0 | |||
| 1989 1989 World Rally Championship season The 1989 World Rally Championship season was the 17th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 13 rallies, with some adjustments to the schedule versus the previous season... |
Colin McRae | Ford Sierra XR 4x4 Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a large family car that was built by Ford Europe from 1982 until 1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément. The code used during development was "Project Toni".... |
SWE 15 |
MON | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | CIV | 34th | 8 | |||||
| Gary Smith Motorsport | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Ford Sierra RS Cosworth The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in Europe.- Development :... |
NZL 5 |
||||||||||||||||||
| R.E.D. | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth | GBR Ret |
||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 1990 World Rally Championship season The 1990 World Rally Championship season was the 18th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 12 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Carlos Sainz in a Toyota Celica GT-Four, ahead of Didier Auriol and Juha Kankkunen... |
Shell UK Oil | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in Europe.- Development :... |
MON | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | CIV | GBR 6 |
34th | 6 | ||||
| 1991 1991 World Rally Championship season The 1991 World Rally Championship season was the 19th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile World Rally Championship . The season consisted of 14 rallies. The drivers' world championship was won by Juha Kankkunen in a Lancia Delta Integrale 16V, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Didier... |
Subaru Rally Team Europe | Subaru Legacy RS | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRC | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | CIV | ESP | GBR Ret |
— | 0 | ||
| 1992 | Subaru Rally Team Europe | Subaru Legacy RS | MON | SWE 2 |
POR | KEN | FRA | GRC 4 |
NZL Ret |
ARG | FIN 8 |
AUS | ITA | CIV | ESP | GBR 6 |
8th | 34 | ||
| 1993 | 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru World Rally Team The Subaru World Rally Team was Subaru's World Rally Championship team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003... |
Subaru Legacy RS | MON | SWE 3 |
POR 7 |
FRA 5 |
GRC Ret |
ARG | NZL 1 |
FIN | AUS 6 |
ITA | ESP | GBR Ret |
5th | 50 | ||||
| Subaru M.S.G. | Subaru Vivio Sedan 4WD Subaru Vivio The Subaru Vivio is a kei car that was introduced in March 1992, and manufactured by Subaru until October 1998. It has a 658 cc multi-point fuel-injected four-cylinder engine , which is small enough to place it in the light car class, giving its owners large tax breaks in Japan... |
KEN Ret |
||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza 555 | MON 10 |
POR Ret |
KEN | FRA Ret |
GRC Ret |
ARG Ret |
NZL 1 |
FIN | ITA 5 |
GBR 1 |
4th | 49 | ||||||
| 1995 | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza 555 | MON Ret |
SWE Ret |
POR 3 |
FRA 5 |
NZL 1 |
AUS 2 |
ESP 2 |
GBR 1 |
1st | 90 | ||||||||
| 1996 | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza 555 | SWE 3 |
KEN 4 |
IDN Ret |
GRC 1 |
ARG Ret |
FIN Ret |
AUS 4 |
ITA 1 |
ESP 1 |
2nd | 92 | |||||||
| 1997 | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza WRC 97 | MON Ret |
SWE 4 |
KEN 1 |
POR Ret |
ESP 4 |
FRA 1 |
ARG 2 |
GRC Ret |
NZL Ret |
FIN Ret |
IDN Ret |
ITA 1 |
AUS 1 |
GBR 1 |
2nd | 62 | ||
| 1998 | 555 Subaru World Rally Team | Subaru Impreza WRC 98 | MON 3 |
SWE Ret |
KEN Ret |
POR 1 |
ESP Ret |
FRA 1 |
ARG 5 |
GRC 1 |
NZL 5 |
FIN Ret |
ITA 3 |
AUS 4 |
GBR Ret |
3rd | 45 | |||
| 1999 | Ford Motor Co BP Ford World Rally Team The Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, also known as the Ford Motor Co. Team prior to 2005, is Ford Motor Company's full factory World Rally Championship team. In its current form, it has been a competitor since the 1997 season, when Ford Motor Company's motorsport arm selected the Malcolm Wilson... |
Ford Focus WRC Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
MON DSQ |
SWE Ret |
KEN 1 |
POR 1 |
ESP Ret |
FRA 4 |
ARG Ret |
GRC Ret |
NZL Ret |
FIN Ret |
CHN Ret |
ITA Ret |
AUS Ret |
GBR Ret |
6th | 23 | ||
| 2000 | Ford Motor Co | Ford Focus RS WRC 00 Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
MON Ret |
SWE 3 |
KEN Ret |
POR Ret |
ESP 1 |
ARG Ret |
GRC 1 |
NZL 2 |
FIN 2 |
CYP 2 |
FRA Ret |
ITA 6 |
AUS Ret |
GBR Ret |
4th | 43 | ||
| 2001 | Ford Motor Co | Ford Focus RS WRC 01 Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
MON Ret |
SWE 9 |
POR Ret |
ESP Ret |
ARG 1 |
CYP 1 |
GRC 1 |
KEN Ret |
FIN 3 |
NZL 2 |
ITA 8 |
FRA 11 |
AUS 5 |
GBR Ret |
2nd | 42 | ||
| 2002 | Ford Motor Co | Ford Focus RS WRC 02 Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
MON 4 |
SWE 6 |
FRA Ret |
ESP 6 |
CYP 6 |
ARG 3 |
GRC 1 |
KEN 1 |
FIN Ret |
GER 4 |
ITA 8 |
NZL Ret |
AUS Ret |
GBR 5 |
4th | 35 | ||
| 2003 | Citroën Total | Citroën Xsara WRC | MON 2 |
SWE 5 |
TUR 4 |
NZL Ret |
ARG Ret |
GRC 8 |
CYP 4 |
GER 4 |
FIN Ret |
AUS 4 |
ITA 6 |
FRA 5 |
ESP 9 |
GBR 4 |
7th | 45 | ||
| 2005 | Škoda Motorsport Škoda Motorsport Škoda Motorsport is the division of Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto responsible for motorsport activities. Škoda competed as a manufacturer in the World Rally Championship between 1999 and 2005, and today competes in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.... |
Škoda Fabia WRC | MON 2005 Monte Carlo Rally The 73ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo , the first round of the 2005 World Rally Championship season took place between January 21 and 23, 2005.- Results :-Special stages:-External links:* at... |
SWE | MEX | NZL | ITA | CYP | TUR | GRC | ARG | FIN | GER | GBR 7 |
JPN | FRA | ESP | AUS Ret |
22nd | 2 |
| 2006 | Kronos Citroën World Rally Team | Citroën Xsara WRC | MON 2006 Monte Carlo Rally The 74ème Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo , the first round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season took place between January 20 and 22, 2006.-Pre-event:... |
SWE 2006 Swedish Rally The 55th Uddeholm Swedish Rally, the second round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season took place from February 3–5, 2006.- Results :-Retirements:... |
MEX 2006 Rally México The 20º Corona Rally México, the third round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season took place from March 3–5, 2006.-Event:The event saw the first win of the season for Sébastien Loeb... |
ESP 2006 Rally Catalunya The 42º Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada,the fourth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season took place from March 24–26, 2006.- Event :... |
FRA 2006 Tour de Corse The 42ème Tour de Corse - Rallye de France,the fifth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season took place between April 7 and April 9 2006.- Results :-Special stages:... |
ARG 2006 Rally Argentina The 26° Rally Argentina,the sixth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season took place between April 27 and April 30, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:... |
ITA 2006 Rally d'Italia Sardegna The 3° Rally d'Italia Sardegna, the seventh round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season, took place between May 19 and May 21, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:... |
GRC 2006 Acropolis Rally The 2006 Acropolis Rally was the eighth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between June 1-4, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:-External Links:... |
GER 2006 Rallye Deutschland The 2006 OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland was the ninth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between August 11-13, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:-External links:*... |
FIN 2006 Rally Finland The 2006 Neste Oil Rally Finland was the tenth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between August 17–20, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:-External Links:*... |
JPN 2006 Rally Japan The 2006 Rally Japan was the eleventh round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between September 1-3, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:... |
CYP 2006 Cyprus Rally The 2006 Cyprus Rally was the twelfth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between September 22-24, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:... |
TUR 2006 Rally of Turkey The 2006 Rally of Turkey was the thirteenth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between October 15–17, 2006. It was the last WRC event that the late Colin McRae competed in. He retired on the final stage with a mechanical problem.... Ret |
AUS 2006 Rally Australia The 2006 Telstra Rally Australia was the fourteenth round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between 26–29 October 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:... |
NZL 2006 Rally New Zealand The 2006 Propecia Rally New Zealand was the penultimate round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between November 17–19, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:... |
GBR 2006 Rally GB The 2006 Wales Rally GB was the final round of the 2006 World Rally Championship season. It took place between December 1-3, 2006.- Results :-Special Stages:... |
— | 0 |
| World Rally Championship victories | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Event | Season | Co-driver | Car |
| 1 |  New Zealand 23rd Rothmans Rally of New ZealandRally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977... |
1993 | Derek Ringer Derek Ringer Derek Ringer is a Scottish rally co-driver. He is most closely associated with Colin McRae, with whom he won the 1995 World Rally Championship.... |
Subaru Legacy RS Subaru Legacy The Subaru Legacy is a mid-size car built by the Japanese company Fuji Heavy Industries, and manufactured by its division Subaru since 1989, and is available as a sedan or wagon. Part of the original design goals for the Legacy model was to provide Subaru a vehicle in which they could compete in... |
| 2 | New Zealand 24th Rothmans Rally of New Zealand Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977... |
1994 | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 Subaru Impreza Introduced in November 1993, the Impreza was offered in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive versions and as a four-door sedan/saloon or five-door station wagon/estate. According to a Motor Trend article written March 1992 on page 26, the name of Subaru's new compact was, initially, to be... |
| 3 |  United Kingdom 50th Network Q Rally |
1994 | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 4 | New Zealand 25th Smokefree Rally New Zealand Rally New Zealand The Rally New Zealand was first held in Taupo in 1969, and was subsequently staged in Canterbury, before moving back to the North Island in 1971.The rally was included as a round of the World Championship in 1977... |
1995 | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 5 | United Kingdom 51st Network Q Rally |
1995 | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 6 |  Greece 43rd Acropolis Rally of GreeceAcropolis Rally Greece The Acropolis Rally of Greece |Rally]] of Greece) is a rally competition, part of the World Rally Championship schedule. The rally is held on very dusty, rough and rocky mountain roads around Athens during the Greek hot summer period. The rally is known for being extremely tough on the competing... |
1996 | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 7 |  Italy 38° Rallye Sanremo — Rallye d'ItaliaRallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally... |
1996 | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 8 |  Spain 32° Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España)Rally Catalunya The Rally Catalunya is a rally competition on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Catalonia, Spain, it was previously held around the region of Costa Brava... |
1996 | Derek Ringer | Subaru Impreza 555 |
| 9 |  Kenya 45th Safari Rally KenyaSafari Rally The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II... |
1997 | Nicky Grist Nicky Grist Nicky Grist is a Welsh former rally co-driver, born in Ebbw Vale. His factory team career in the World Rally Championship lasted from 1993 to 2002. He won 21 rallies and one World championship titles, with more than one driver.... |
Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 10 |  Early Modern France 41ème Tour de Corse — Rallye de France |
1997 | Nicky Grist | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 11 | Italy 39° Rallye Sanremo — Rallye d'Italia Rallye Sanremo Rallye Sanremo is a rally competition held in Sanremo, Italy. Except for the 1995 event, the event was part of the FIA World Rally Championship schedule from the 1973 season to the 2003 season. Currently, it is a round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge and the Italian national rally... |
1997 | Nicky Grist | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 12 |  Australia 10th API Rally AustraliaRally Australia Rally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth, Western Australia from 1988 until 2006, when that state's tourism commission severed its collaboration with the event. The rally was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the World Rally Championship... |
1997 | Nicky Grist | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 13 | United Kingdom 53rd Network Q Rally |
1997 | Nicky Grist | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 14 |  Portugal 31° TAP Rallye de PortugalRally de Portugal The Rally de Portugal is a rally competition held in Portugal. First held in 1967, the seventh running of the race, the 7º TAP Rallye de Portugal was the third event in the inaugural FIA World Rally Championship in 1973... |
1998 | Nicky Grist | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 15 | Early Modern France 42ème Tour de Corse — Rallye de France |
1998 | Nicky Grist | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 16 | Greece 45th Acropolis Rally of Greece Acropolis Rally Greece The Acropolis Rally of Greece |Rally]] of Greece) is a rally competition, part of the World Rally Championship schedule. The rally is held on very dusty, rough and rocky mountain roads around Athens during the Greek hot summer period. The rally is known for being extremely tough on the competing... |
1998 | Nicky Grist | Subaru Impreza WRC |
| 17 | Kenya 47th Safari Rally Kenya Safari Rally The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II... |
1999 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC Ford Focus WRC The Ford Focus RS WRC is a car built for the Ford World Rally Team by Ford and M-Sport and based on the Ford Focus Climate 2-litre production hatchback, developed to compete in the World Rally Championship. The RS stands for Rallye Sport and the WRC for World Rally Car, the car's FIA specification... |
| 18 | Portugal 32° TAP Rallye de Portugal Rally de Portugal The Rally de Portugal is a rally competition held in Portugal. First held in 1967, the seventh running of the race, the 7º TAP Rallye de Portugal was the third event in the inaugural FIA World Rally Championship in 1973... |
1999 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
| 19 | Spain 36° Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España) Rally Catalunya The Rally Catalunya is a rally competition on the World Rally Championship schedule. Now held on the wide, smooth and sweeping asphalt roads around the town of Salou, Catalonia, Spain, it was previously held around the region of Costa Brava... |
2000 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
| 20 | Greece 47th Acropolis Rally Acropolis Rally Greece The Acropolis Rally of Greece |Rally]] of Greece) is a rally competition, part of the World Rally Championship schedule. The rally is held on very dusty, rough and rocky mountain roads around Athens during the Greek hot summer period. The rally is known for being extremely tough on the competing... |
2000 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
| 21 |  Argentina 21° Rally ArgentinaRally Argentina The Rally Argentina is an Argentine rally competition that has been both a round of the World Rally Championship and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. The rally is also a round of the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championship... |
2001 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
| 22 |  Cyprus 29th Cyprus RallyCyprus Rally The Cyprus Rally is a rallying competition held yearly in Cyprus since 1970. The event is run by the Cyprus Automobile Association and is based in the city of Limassol . It is run on the winding roads of the nearby mountains of Troödos. It was part of the FIA's World Rally Championship from 2000... |
2001 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
| 23 | Greece 48th Acropolis Rally Acropolis Rally Greece The Acropolis Rally of Greece |Rally]] of Greece) is a rally competition, part of the World Rally Championship schedule. The rally is held on very dusty, rough and rocky mountain roads around Athens during the Greek hot summer period. The rally is known for being extremely tough on the competing... |
2001 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
| 24 | Greece 49th Acropolis Rally Acropolis Rally Greece The Acropolis Rally of Greece |Rally]] of Greece) is a rally competition, part of the World Rally Championship schedule. The rally is held on very dusty, rough and rocky mountain roads around Athens during the Greek hot summer period. The rally is known for being extremely tough on the competing... |
2002 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
| 25 | Kenya 50th Inmarsat Safari Rally Safari Rally The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the world's toughest rally. It was first held from 27 May to 1 June 1953 as the East African Coronation Safari in Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II... |
2002 | Nicky Grist | Ford Focus WRC |
Journals
- Evans, David (20 September 2007) AutosportAutosportAutosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...
, "McRae Tribute", Vol. 189, No. 12, pp. 6–11, Haymarket Publications.