WRC Driver Legends | Best Rally Driver Legends| Profile - wrc.com Rally Wins: 25 Colin McRae was made to drive rally cars. He had an astonishing ability to fire a car between the trees faster than anybody else and it was that speed, allied to outrageous bravery, which enabled him to win 25 world rallies. McRae’s talents were obvious on the British circuit from the minute he stepped aboard a battered Talbot Sunbeam. He continued to flatten his learning curve in a Vauxhall Nova and Ford Sierra Cosworths and when he finished sixth on the 1990 RAC Rally, Subaru signed him up. Two British titles followed and McRae began to make an impression with a limited programme of world events. Such was the manner of the man that he rolled his Legacy four times in the 1992 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland but still finished eighth! McRae’s speed was breathtaking and his first WRC win came in New Zealand in 1993. The Impreza replaced the Legacy and this was McRae’s car.

He won 15 times in the various guises of Impreza from 1994 to 1998, including an emotional first win at home in Britain in 1994 and an even more emotional first title there 12 months later after a tight and awkward battle with team-mate Carlos Sainz. With McRae topping the world at just 27, the Scot was tipped for plenty more titles but those wins didn’t follow. Despite winning five rallies in 1997, he missed out to Tommi Mäkinen by one point. He joined Ford in 1999 and came close to the title in 2001 but crashed his Focus heavily on the Rally GB decider. He was the complete driver and a global superstar, but the sport was rocked on 15 September 2007, when McRae, his son Johnny and two family friends were killed in a helicopter crash. McRae’s talents were obvious on the British circuit from the minute he stepped aboard a battered Talbot Sunbeam.

He continued to flatten his learning curve in a Vauxhall Nova and Ford Sierra Cosworths and when he finished sixth on the 1990 RAC Rally, Subaru signed him up. Two British titles followed and McRae began to make an impression with a limited programme of world events. Such was the manner of the man that he rolled his Legacy four times in the 1992 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland but still finished eighth! McRae’s speed was breathtaking and his first WRC win came in New Zealand in 1993. The Impreza replaced the Legacy and this was McRae’s car. He won 15 times in the various guises of Impreza from 1994 to 1998, including an emotional first win at home in Britain in 1994 and an even more emotional first title there 12 months later after a tight and awkward battle with team-mate Carlos Sainz. With McRae topping the world at just 27, the Scot was tipped for plenty more titles but those wins didn’t follow.

Despite winning five rallies in 1997, he missed out to Tommi Mäkinen by one point. He joined Ford in 1999 and came close to the title in 2001 but crashed his Focus heavily on the Rally GB decider. He was the complete driver and a global superstar, but the sport was rocked on 15 September 2007, when McRae, his son Johnny and two family friends were killed in a helicopter crash. WRC+ Colin McRae Motorsports : Homepage Colin McRae Vision Charity Colin McRae MBE Rally Legend The Scot's name is legendary in the world of motorsport. A spectacular, flamboyant and totally committed driving style brought him to the attention of Motorsport enthusiasts at an early age and there was to be no denying the natural talent that ultimately rewarded him with the title of Britain's first World Rally Champion in 1995 and an MBE from The Queen for his outstanding achievement. The tragic helicopter accident in September 2007, which claimed the lives of Colin, his son Johnny and two family friends shocked both the general public and the motorsport community at home and abroad.

The Early Years Colin’s fascination with cars began at the age of two and was not necessarily even connected with his father’s exploits in a rally car, the elder McRae ultimately winning the British Rally Championship five times. By the time he was seven, Colin was on motorbikes and within five years competing in trials, winning junior and intermediate championships by the age of 14. The trials bike then became a fair swap for an autotest Mini and then his first rally in 1985; but he had to pay for it by fitting a new gearbox to a friend’s Avenger. His debut was on the Kames Stages in Scotland and despite dropping off the side of the road, the Scot finished 14th overall and first in class in his first event. In support of their son’s initiative, the McRae’s acquired a Talbot Sunbeam but there were still no free rides. Colin joined the family heating and plumbing business and, although more time was spent in the garage helping to maintain the company vans and preparing the Sunbeam, Colin still had to spend time earning a living as an apprentice plumber.

It was in 1986 that seasoned observers began to suspect that Colin had something special, with his first World Rally Championship event coming in 1987 in Sweden, where he finished 36th overall and third in class in his Vauxhall Nova despite several visits to the inevitable snowbanks. Ironically his first outright rally victory came in 1988 on the Tweedies Rally, when he was co-driven by longtime girlfriend and wife to be, Alison Hamilton. More WRC outings followed in 1989 and Colin was a sensation in Sweden , climbing as high as 10th overall before gearbox problems eventually dropped him to 15th at the finish. Fifth in New Zealand in a Sierra Cosworth and two wins at national level proved enough to impress Ford, who offered him a works Sapphire Cosworth, which was run by RED the following year. 1991 - 1998 Colin’s major breakthrough was eventually facilitated by David Richards, the 1981 World Champion co-driver alongside Ari Vatanen, and the man who brought Subaru to rallying with his company Prodrive .

Richards, having spotted some of the same natural ability and raw talent that had attracted him to Ari Vatanen, took a huge gamble in signing Colin for Subaru, in order to give him the grounding in the British Rally Championship that would prove essential in his on-going development and ready him for the step up to the WRC. His faith was repaid, if not the repair bills, as he steered Colin to meteoric success. With Co-driver , Derek Ringer, the British Rally Championship crown was quickly achieved in 1991 and the Scot was to prove totally unfazed by the enormity of the world stage when he finally entered the scene in 1992. He and the Rothmans Legacy had again grabbed the headlines in Britain with a clean sweep of victories on each of the six events, but the spotlight was firmly and unexpectedly on him in his first World Championship rally with Subaru, in Sweden, when lead driver Ari Vatanen crashed on the opening test. The pundits were confounded; against all odds and formidable competition in a rally historically dominated by Nordic drivers, Colin had victory in his sights before a puncture on the last day.

Even so, he beat the likes of Stig Blomqvist and Markku Alen fair and square to finish an astounding second overall. The campaign was stepped up in 1993 with a World and Asia-Pacific programme and although it proved to be a year of highs and lows, it did encompass his first-ever win in the World Rally Championship. Even today, his utter command and demolition of the opposition on New Zealand's infamous Motu stage live in the minds of all who witnessed his sheer commitment and natural driving ability. A two-year contract followed in 1994 and accidents in Corsica and Argentina were more than compensated for by victories in New Zealand and Great Britain. The team's wildest dreams were however realised in 1995 when he won the World Championship and became Britain's first and the youngest ever World Rally Champion. The following two years were character-building finishing second in the Championship in both seasons, despite winning more events than any of his rivals. Success was mixed with significant and repetitive mechanical failures, which added to his desire to seek a fresh challenge in 1999. Coin’s 1995 famous Impreza L555BAT is now on display in the Riverside Museum in Glasgow.

Subaru Gallery 1999 - 2001 A switch to the M-Sport run Ford World Rally Team took place for the1999 season. Now co-driving with Welshman, Nicky Grist, Colin immediately made an impact by astounding all the experts with the maiden victory for the Ford Focus WRC in the toughest event on the calendar - The Safari Rally in Kenya. He proved this was no fluke by winning the following event in Portugal before a string of mechanical failures mixed in with a couple of accidents saw Colin failing to finish no fewer than eight consecutive events. He remained with Ford until the end of 2002, claiming his 25th World Championship rally victory in Kenya that same year to become the world's most successful driver. Ford Gallery 2003 - 2005 The switch to Citroen came in 2003 and while the Colin claimed points in all but three events, he was ultimately to became a victim of new FIA regulations which introduced two-car teams for 2004. Success continued to follow Colin around, underlining his all-round aptitude behind the wheel of a competition car.

In 2005, Colin returned to the WRC series for Skoda driving the Fabia. In Rally GB, his home event , Colin thrilled the thousands of spectators who turned out to support their hero. He recorded Skoda's best result of the season finishing seventh overall. Following this success, Colin returned to the Skoda works team to drive the Fabia on Rally Australia. This partnership of Colin and Skoda rejuvenated the World Championship when he recorded stage times which put him in third position at the end of day one. With only three stages to go and challenging for second overall, a routine clutch change took longer than was anticipated and the team were out of the event. A cruel blow for the whole team when such a fantastic result was within reach. Racing or rallying, the Scot’s desire to succeed was evident when the lure of two of the world’s most demanding motorsport events - Dakar and Le Mans - was too much to ignore. The legendary Dakar provided the sense of adventure Colin craved and on his first attempt at this marathon rally he set two fastest stage times and ran as high as third overall before transmission problems left him stranded in the desert for two days.

Having inked his signature on a Nissan contract for the 2005 Dakar Rally, Colin and co-driver Tina Thorner drove the Nissan Pickup 2005 to victory on its debut event, the Baja Portalegre during October. This gave the team great confidence in it's attempt to finish on the podium in Dakar. In confident mood Colin recorded two fastest times on the 2005 Dakar Rally and was leading the event by over six minutes at the start of stage 6 when he hit a hidden ledge and the Nissan catapulted end over end at high speed. The strength of the Nissan central cell protected both crew members and they escaped with no serious injuries. At Le Mans, sharing a Ferrari 550 Maranello with Rickard Rydell and Darren Turner, the trio achieved a podium finish. Citreon & Skoda Gallery Other success Success in rallying had brought Colin worldwide recognition in motorsport circles, and led to the introduction of his eponymous computer game, through which his appeal reached a much more diverse and wider audience. The first game, Colin McRae Rally was released in 1998.

After huge success, other games were released culminating with the first of the "Dirt" Series in June 2007. "Colin McRae Dirt 2" and "Dirt 3" followed and the brand remains the market leader in rally games worldwide. Away from competing, Colin turned his attention to producing the ultimate rally machine by utilising his many years of experience testing and developing rally cars for the top WRC teams, allied to his own considerable engineering knowledge. Working with DJM Motorsport, the company who built Colin’s Mark 2 Escort in 2003, Colin started working to produce a car at a realistic price that was fun to drive and also would produce a buzz in terms of noise and performance for the spectators. He was insistent that there should be no active differentials or artificial driver aids as he wanted a car that placed the emphasis on driver ability and would get back to the sort of sideways action that the fans craved.

The result was the 'Colin McRae R4’ which he debuted at the "Goodwood Festival of Speed’ to great effect in July 2007, setting a time that was only a fraction slower than that which he set in the works Subaru Impreza WRC of Petter Solberg. Given that the car was only at the very start of its development this performance gave Colin a huge boost as he knew that he was on the right track with the 'R4’. Plans to put the prototype into production were shelved after the tragic events of September 2007. The only R4 ever produced remains in the family’s collection of Colin’s cars and draws big crowds whenever it is on display. The Colin McRae Vision Charity was formed in the aftermath of the tragic helicopter accident, which claimed the life of Colin, along with his young son Johnny and two family friends in September 2007. In the light of the incredible response from the public, the McRae family decided that it might be possible to utilise the profile of Colin's name and worldwide rallying achievements to raise funds for charitable children's health and education initiatives.

In the last few years, the trust has been able make some fantastic donations in Colin's honour, however, long term, the Trustees decided to cease actively fundraising for the Vision. To find out about the charity's activities please view here...

Won Rally New Zealand (WRC) Subaru Legacy Won Malaysia Rally Subaru Legacy 1994 Won Rally New Zealand (WRC) Subaru Impreza 555 Won Rally Australia Subaru Impreza 555 Won RAC (WRC) Subaru Impreza 555 1995 Britain's first ever World Rally Champion Won Rally of Indonesia Subaru Impreza 555 Won Rally New Zealand (WRC) Subaru Impreza 555 Won Rally of Catalunya Subaru Impreza 555 Won RAC (WRC) Subaru Impreza 555 1996 Won Rally of Thailand Subaru Impreza 555 Won Acropolis Rally (WRC) Subaru Impreza 555 Won Sanremo Rally (WRC) Subaru Impreza 555 Won Rally of Catalunya (WRC) Subaru Impreza 555 2nd World Championship for Drivers Awarded MBE for services to Motorsport 1997 Won Safari Rally (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC97 Won Rally of Corsica (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC97 Won Rally of China Subaru Imp

reza WRC97 Won Sanremo Rally (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC97 Won Rally of Australia (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC97 Won RAC (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC97 2nd World Championship for Drivers 1998 Won Rally of Portugal (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC Won Rally of Corscia (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC Won Acropolis Rally (WRC) Subaru Impreza WRC 3rd World Championship for Drivers 1999 Won Safari Rally (WRC) Ford Focus WRC Won Rally of Portugal (WRC) Ford Focus WRC 2000 Won Rally of Catalunya (WRC) Ford Focus WRC Won Acropolis Rally (WRC) Ford Focus WRC 2001 Won Rally of Argentina (WRC) Ford Focus WRC Won Rally of Cyprus (WRC) Ford Focus WRC Won Acropolis Rally (WRC) Ford Focus WRC 2nd World Championship for Drivers 2002 Won Acropolis Rally (WRC) Ford Focus RS WRC Won Safari Rally (WRC) Ford Focus RS WRC 200

4 My son Colin McRae: Jimmy McRae on the rally legend, CAR+ archive, February 2013 by CAR Magazine ► CAR interviews Colin McRae's dad, Jimmy ► A proud father remembers his son's talents ► 'I was more proud of his achievements than mine' 1985 - The first rally ‘Colin was 17 and had just passed his driving test when we went away for a couple of weeks and he stayed at home.

Somehow he got his competition licence, borrowed a car from someone at the Coltness Car Club, changed the gearbox with Barrie Lochhead – a mechanic who went on to work with Colin and Alister – and finished his first rally in 11th. 'Colin was still into his motocross then and we knew he would have a go at rallying at some point, I just didn’t expect it then. When I got home I thought “bloody hell, think of what could have gone wrong! It was a borrowed car!” I’d have been more cautious if I’d have been around. 'I was a little bit annoyed with Colin, but it was a proud moment.’ 1988 The giant-killing Nova ‘I won the Scottish Rally in a Sierra Cosworth, but Colin came eighth overall and won his class in a 1300cc Nova – I was more proud of his achievements than mine, even though I’d been trying to win that rally for ages. 'It was done on a budget – Colin was on remoulds, the others were on Pirellis – so it was a proper giant-killing performance.

I remember Andrew Cowan [ex-rally driver and boss of Ralliart Europe] saying that normally you’d watch the first few cars come through and then leave to get to the next stage, but everyone was hanging on to see this Nova – and that was coming from Andrew Cowan! 'That year I won the British Championship and Colin won the Scottish Championship – there was a big party in Lanark that night! My career was winding down, and I was focusing more on Colin’s. He scored points with four or five different cars that year: his Nova, a Nissan 240RS, a Peugeot, a Sierra Cosworth…' 1989 - Finishes fifth in New Zealand ‘I entered two Ford Sierra Cosworths on the New Zealand WRC rally with help from Ford and Shell and my friend Gary Smith – one car for me and one for Colin. I crashed out, but Colin finished fifth, the youngest guy ever to score so highly at that level.

'I was so proud of Colin that I almost forgot how badly I’d done.’ 1990 - RAC drive bags Prodrive contract ‘The RAC Rally was the event where all the other drivers – Markku Alén, Hannu Mikkola – all thought, “bloody hell, who’s coming through like this?” Colin had a four-door Sierra Cosworth, which he rolled and we had to use a barn-door slip-bolt to hold the door closed, but he still managed to finish in sixth. 'By that time it was all costing me a fortune. Buyright was supposed to be the main sponsor, and the guy was very enthusiastic, but they never paid us, so most of it was coming out of my pocket. But because of Colin’s performance on that rally, we got the drive with Dave Richards and Subaru. We were trying with Ford, and Vauxhall were interested with the Astra, so tongue-in-cheek I phoned Dave Richards and he said “we’ll go for it” because of all the interest Colin was creating.

'Colin went on to win the 1991 British Championship and a few abroad that year too, in the Legacy.’ 1992 - Into the WRC ‘Colin went back in for the 1992 British Championship, but he also got to do selected WRC rounds. He won every round of the British Championship that year and he took the WRC in his stride. By that time he’d made up his mind that he wanted to be world champion, and that was his goal – there was no panic. He rolled a couple of times on the 1000 Lakes rally but still finished eighth – he won the hearts of the Finns that year with his determination. He finished the RAC in sixth, which was pretty special.’ 1993 - Wins first WRC event ‘Colin did selected rounds of the 1993 world rally championship again, plus some Asia Pacific rounds. He finished third in Sweden, the youngest ever driver to do that and the only ever Brit to score so highly on snow. He went on to do New Zealand and ended up winning in the Legacy – Subaru’s first ever WRC win, as well as Colin’s.

'I wasn’t there and we didn’t have the internet back then, so it was costing me a fortune in phone calls. But my friend Gary Smith was out there and he called me and said “your son has won his first world championship rally”. There were very few mobile phones then, so I got to speak to Colin at the finish, and there were a few tears in the eye that night. The Prodrive lot were high as kites.’ 1994 - Wins rally GB ‘It was the Impreza era by now. On the Monte Carlo rally Colin was going very well but the spectators shovelled snow on the road and he went off – but he still finished. Colin really liked New Zealand and he won there and in Australia, so the wins were coming. And then he had his first win on our home event. The atmosphere was electric – everybody did that rally – and it couldn’t get any better, basically.

Ari Vatanen and Alén – guys there I’d competed against – they were proud for me and coming up to offer their congratulations.’ 1995 - Wins world title ‘After the disappointment of Catalunya and team orders to get Colin to slow down for Carlos [Sainz], we came to our home event [the RAC Rally] with the world title still up for grabs. Colin had no doubt, even when they had a puncture and damaged the suspension. He just said “no problem”. 'He still had to try hard on that final stage and win the rally. I was thinking “he should be here by now” and then he came over the flying finish and Carlos came through over a minute later. 'Colin had to get it back to Chester on the road for the finish to win the world championship, so we were just praying there’d be no mechanical issues. It was a big relief to get it there.

Standing at the finish ramp in Chester was the proudest moment of my life.’ 1996 - Receives MBE ‘Colin got an MBE from the Queen in 1996 and Margaret and I went down to London – very proud when you see your son get that, and he was proud of that one, Colin was quite choked. The Queen said she’d seen him on TV.’ 1999 - Wins safari rally ‘The Focus was a brand new car and we were off to the Safari rally and we thought, well, we better leave our tickets open for coming back because they’d done no testing, and Toyota used to spend three months out there beforehand. We thought that if we got it to the end it would be fantastic. 'Colin never won a stage on that rally, but he got in a rhythm of not breaking the car but keeping pegging away at the times – and he won. For [Ford M Sport boss] Malcolm Wilson, it was a dream come true; [Mitsubishi driver Tommi] Mäkinen couldn’t believe it.

'Everyone says Colin was flamboyant and rough, but he proved he could drive with his head, and he won that one against all the odds. He was unlucky not to win the championship with Ford.’ Remembering Colin McRae's 1995 WRC title | Autocar Newsletter Remembering Colin McRae's 1995 WRC title Today marks 20 years since Britain scored its first World Rally Championship title, thanks to a plucky Scot and a very rapid Impreza McRae was a frustrated second on the penultimate round in Catalunya Close Follow @@johnmcilroy This afternoon - at around lunchtime, as it happens - marked the 20th anniversary of the moment that Colin McRae and Derek Ringer crossed the finish line of Clocaenog East to win the Network Q RAC Rally for the second year in succession and become Britain’s first World Rally Champions. Winning the title with an astonishing display of speed on the closing event was an incredible achievement by the young Scot - not least because of the mental fortitude that he required to pick himself up after the penultimate round in Catalunya.

There he’d been locked in a tussle with team-mate and championship rival Carlos Sainz - only to be informed by Prodrive/ Subaru team boss David Richards that the pair should hold station in the closing stages. Colin refused to accept this, so Subaru dispatched a bunch of team officials to the final few kilometres of the last stage to get him to slow down. Colin changed up a gear as he passed them by. Then later in service, he deliberately picked up a time penalty to hand the win back to Sainz - but not until he’d kicked a wastebin around the Subaru truck in frustration. It was an amazing sulk in public from one of the sport’s top stars - it’s hard to imagine one that’s matched it since, come to think of it - and it was easy to see how it could have resulted in a first-day retirement on the RAC as Colin over-stretched himself in a bid for revenge. That didn’t happen - although Colin’s win on the RAC was far from straightforward. He suffered a puncture in a Scottish forest that cost him a couple of minutes, and he damaged front suspension and had to bend it back into shape with a log.

Thereafter, though, Colin was utterly dominant; even when he was still recovering from that time loss and in second place, such was his speed advantage over Sainz that victory seemed inevitable. On some of the Welsh stages he was more than a second per mile clear of his rival - a man who had won the event twice before, let’s not forget - and it was hard to not feel even slightly sympathetic for Sainz as he tried his best, often in treacherous and foggy conditions, and then gazed at the stage times in disbelief. Watching some of the YouTube footage now - in particular, that closing Clocaenog stage from Colin’s in-car camera - I’m struck by a couple of things. Firstly, the crowds were utterly enormous; lining mile after mile of muddy Welsh forest to cheer Britain’s hero to the title. Secondly, the winning crew were simply stunned in celebration; “Yes! Spot on!” was about all Derek Ringer could manage, while Colin gave a clenched fist and little else.

It was the classic understated British success from a modest, quiet guy; a true people’s champion; even the first interview at the closing service area brought pretty much single-word answers and confirmation that things hadn't quite sunk in. If you’re wanting to know what happened in the hours that followed that success, I’m afraid I can’t enlighten you. I was there - bizarrely, that RAC was my first ever WRC round, attended as a cub rally reporter with Motoring News, now Motorsport News. But my junior status meant I had little to write - and that allowed me to frequent the Chester nightclub where the Subaru team, McRae family and British motorsport had decamped to celebrate. You can guess the rest. Those were heady days - with Colin’s presence at the top soon to be joined by that of Richard Burns, allowing Britain to come as close as it ever has done to dominating the rally world.

Colin McRae Biography & Stats - World Rally Championship | Motorsports | Crash.Net MOTORSPORTS Colin McRae Born in 1968, Colin McRae was arguably the most famous driver in the history of the World Rally Championship, not just for his all action performances on rally stages around the globe, but also for the range of computer games which carried his name. Son of another rally legend Jimmy McRae, Colin was British Rally Champion in both 1991 and 1992 while driving for Subaru and took his first WRC win with the team in New Zealand in 1993. In 1995, at the wheel of the iconic Impreza, he took wins in New Zealand and Great Britain to become the Briton to lift the WRC title.

After finishing second for the following two years and then third in 1998, he moved to Ford in 1999 remaining with the team until the end of 2002 when he then switched to Citroen, However, a change in rules for 2004 left him without a full-time drive and his focus turned elsewhere, with the Scot competing in various different events including the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Dakar Rally. There were occasional WRC outings in 2005 and 2006 for Skoda and Kronos Citroen while McRae was also busy developing his own new car – the R4 – when he was one of four people killed in a helicopter accident in September 2007 along with his young son Johnny and two family friends. McRae, who was awarded the MBE in 1996, took 25 WRC wins during his career, making him one of the most successful drivers to have ever appeared in the sport.

McRae Motorsports McRae Motorsports Hello, Guest | Login 0 Items in your Cart $0 Colin McRae The McRae name has been synonymous with the spectacular sport of rallying for three decades. Father Jimmy and sons Colin and Alister have, between them, won just about every title worth winning, including British, Asia-Pacific and World Rally Championships. Their sport has taken them to some of the most challenging environments on the planet, on almost every continent and their success has come from a blend of dedication, adaptability and supreme car control and fitness. ALISTER McRAE Alister McRae took his first foray into motorsport at the age of twelve, when he took up motorcycle trials and motorcross. But it was always rallying where he would demonstrate his true colours and success wasn't long in coming. In his first full season in 1989 he not only won the 1300 Group A class in the Scottish Championship in his Vauxhall Nova he also lifted the 2WD Group A overall honours. 1990 saw a repeat of the previous years success with another 1300 GP A Scottish Championship win and his first foray into International events in the UK.

In 1991 the move up to the Vauxhall Nova 1600 GSI Challenge proved a difficult year with many teething problems with the new car causing retirements. Third in the Championship and winning the Class and finishing 8th Overall on the International Scottish Rally was reward for a difficult season. At the end 1991 Alister received his big break by beating the likes of Richard Burns, Robbie Head, Mark Higgins, Martin Rowe and Dom Buckley over two days, winning the Inaugural Shell Scholarship. The outcome was a fully funded Group N Sierra Cosworth on the British Championship along with other selected events. Alister paid Shell back for their trust in him by claiming his first overall event win on the Malcolm Wilson Stages, winning his first National event on the Granite City Rally, Winning the Group N British Rally Championship and placing 1st in Group N on the UK's round of the World Rally Championship. The following years saw further triumphs with Subaru and Nissan, culminating with Alister winning the British Rally Championship outright in 1995, at the wheel of a works Nissan Sunny.

Success breeds success and more manufacturer drives were to follow, with a two-year contract to drive the Formula 2 Volkswagen Golf, which he used to excellent effect, winning British Championship events but more importantly taking Formula Two wins in the World Rally Championship. His results and reputation led to his services being secured by the newest manufacturer to join the World Rally Championship, Hyundai. In 1999, he competed in the front wheel drive Coupe while simultaneously developing Hyundai's first world rally car, the Accent WRC. Then in 2000, he developed the car further during its first year of actual competition and scored the manufacturers first ever WRC points. In 2001, the fruits of two years' hard work began to show, with a series of points-scoring finishes and a narrow miss of the podium on his home event, the Rally of Great Britain. Following his excellent performance with Hyundai, he was selected to join Mitsubishi, stalwart of the WRC, in 2002. This transpired to be a difficult year, as the Japanese manufacturer found itself in turmoil, with an uncompetitive new car and a massive management re-structure.

It subsequently pulled out of rallying at the beginning of the '03 season, to build a new rally car from scratch. Undaunted, Alister entered the 2004 Production World Rally Championship with the RED World Rally Team and was on course to take the title on the last event before, in a cruel twist of fate, a mechanical failure robbed him of the championship. 2005 and 2006 saw Alister successfully competing in the Chinese Rally Championship with the Wanyu Rally Team in a Mitsubishi Evo 9 along with a number of other selected international events including a return to the WRC in Rally GB in Wales and wins in the IRC Zulu Rally in South Africa. Throughout 2007 Alister competed on various rallies including the New Zealand round of the WRC, leading the Production Category until a puncture on the final stage robbed him of the win. Followinng the tragic death of Colin and his son Johnny, Alister stepped in to compete in the Race of Champions held at Wembley Stadium, an event that was dedicated to the life of Colin McRae.

2008 saw Alister win at the Targa Tasmania in a 2WD Mazda 3 and a Classic win in a Porsche 911 in the Targa West Rally around Alister’s adopted home of Perth, Australia. It was also fitting that Alister took the 2WD honours at the McRae Stages in September, a rally attended by the great and the good of the rallying world in honour of Colin. 2009 started off in style with Alister competing in the grueling Dakar Rally for the first time. Alister finished 39th overall, an excellent result for the debut of Alister and the McRae Enduro car. 2009 saw Alister back behind the wheel of a Manufacturer entered car driving Team Proton’s new Satria S2000 in the IRC and APRC. 2nd Place on the IRC Scotland Rally cemented the relationship. As if that wasn’t enough, Alister decided that it was time to give residence in his new home of Western Australia the benefits of a long career behind the wheel. Not only in the Motorsport arena but helping develop better drivers in general.

September 2009 saw the commencement of SpeedAware, a Registered Training organisation that now provides Nationally Accredited Driver Training (Australia), Youth Driver Training for pre-licence and new drivers, as well as 4x4 driver training for Western Australia’s thousands of four wheel drive owners ( ) The Proton relationship continued into 010 with Alister continuing to drive for Team Proton ending the year on a high with a Win on the APRC Rally of China. Alister then set his hand to giving the public and corporate sectors a taste of what he does best “Rally Driving” and what they really want through McRae Motorsport. Colin McRae | World Rally Fever World Rally Fever If you're a diagnosed rally fan: here's the prescription Colin McRae 0 As we look forward to the opening day of the 2013 WRC, there’s more good news to be had. The BBC will be screening the third of its motor sport heroes trilogy , when Olympic cycling star Sir Chris Hoy profiles his own hero, 1995 world champion Colin McRae, on Sunday, January 27.

The programme will be aired at 9pm after the first episode in the new season of Top Gear. The programme, originally scheduled for broadcast on December 28 2012, disappeared at the last minute. It should make for riveting viewing. As with the previous programmes on Sir Stirling Moss by Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Jackie Stewart by James Martin, the star presenter will progress towards driving an iconic car from his subject’s career – in this case a Subaru Impreza 555, similar to the one in which McRae clinched his title. Share this: The music may or may not be to your taste, but this film from 2007 is hopefully enough to give a decent McRae fix in lieu of the BBC’s documentary… Share this: 11 Press shot from BBC via Touchline TV The BBC has left the public bewildered after dropping the second of three planned instalments of its ‘Racing Legends’ series. As is stated fairly categorically on the series page on the BBC website here (at least at the time of writing), ‘there will be 3 episodes’.

According to the original press release, this series was to have featured 1) Sir Patrick Stewart, formerly Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise, meeting his boyhood hero Sir Stirling Moss; 2) Sir Chris Hoy, Britain’s most successful Olympian, telling the story of his hero Colin McRae; 3) TV chef James Martin meeting his idol Sir Jackie Stewart. All three episodes were due to have been aired in the days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve but all mention of the McRae programme disappeared during the week before broadcast. Both the Moss and Stewart programmes have subsequently been shown but the McRae episode has disappeared and is extremely unlikely to see the light of day. Responses from the BBC to enquiries from motor sport fans have been varied – reportedly including statements that there are contractual, copyright and legal issues involved. WRF understands from a well-placed source that there is a considerable degree of nervousness permeating the BBC at the present time in the wake of the Sir Jimmy Savile debacle .

According to the amended press release for the serie s (which has moved the Stewart programme to episode 2 and the McRae programme to episode 3 with a ‘TBA’ broadcast date), Colin’s father Jimmy McRae ‘speaks movingly about the tragic accident that claimed his son’s life’. In the current climate it’s therefore logical to expect that any programme which celebrated Colin’s life would have exposed the BBC to further criticism with regard to the welfare of children. The fact is that although Colin McRae’s life and career were an inspiration to millions, the 2011 Fatal Accident Inquiry into his death in a flying accident found the 1995 world champion responsible for the crash which ended his life and those of his five year-old son, his son’s six year-old friend and another adult friend of the family. This cannot have been news either to the BBC’s commissioning team… but clearly someone got spooked at the eleventh hour. A barometer of where the public opinion is at present came in the Telegraph’s review of the opening Racing Legends show with Sir Stirling Moss.

In the eyes of motor sport fans it was a perfectly likeable documentary, but Stirling’s familiar trenchant views on the 1955 Le Mans disaster – admirably unchanged from that day to this – made him, in the reviewer’s eyes, ‘too different from the rest of us to be terribly likeable’. In the Twitterverse, the dropping of the McRae programme was clearly news to Sir Chris Hoy, who tweeted: ‘Not sure when BBC racing legends prog about Colin McRae is on, for those of you asking’. Meanwhile one of the show’s production team, Lindsey Green, insisted in her feed that it will ‘Probably be on early next year’. While rally fans have been left disappointed, so too are those who participated in making it … not least the owner of the Sunbeam Ti that underwent expensive restoration work in order for Hoy and Jimmy McRae to take the wheel of the car. WRF hopes that the McRae programme can be edited into a form that is more palatable to the BBC’s fear of the British public – ideally with more content on the rivalry between him and Britain’s other ‘lost’ champion, Richard Burns.

Share this: 1 Hirvo in his RS1800 Petter Solberg will be staring out of the side window for a good period of time next year, if rumours are true. The 2003 world champion is believed to have bought a classic Ford Escort RS1800 in which to get his kicks while away from the WRC action. The car is one prepared by Viking Motorsport – the classic rally specialist owned by Phil Mills, Petter’s former co-driver. Viking-prepared Escorts are proven to be extremely rapid machines in classic competition. Solberg meanwhile follows the likes of Colin McRae and Mikko Hirvonen in buying himself one of the Group 4 cars which made such a legend in the sport through the 1970s with their sideways style and barking BDA engines. Still a favourite in club-level and classic rallies, regular faces seen peering out of RS1800s include Stig Blomqvist, Gwyndaf Evans and his FIA Academy-winning son Elfyn.

Share this: 2 With refreshing candour, Jari-Matti Latvala announced in France that he is currently perched on the horns of a dilemma – should he renounce his undisputed Number 1 status at Ford in 2013 to join the Volkswagen ‘superteam’? His fear is that there are no guarantees of Ford continuing with its WRC programme beyond the end of its current deal with M-Sport, ending in a year’s time. But are his fears justified? In a word: yes. To many, many fans around the world, the idea of Ford turning its back on rallying is akin to Ferrari calling time on its F1 team. It has been omnipresent in the sport for 60 years, won countless rallies and produced a series of sporting icons. Yet cast aside the era of global domination that Ford achieved in the heady days of the 1970s, when Stuart Turner ran the show and BDA-engined Escorts snarled and barked in the forest, and there really is little to show in the trophy cabinet against what has been spent. When you the situation from the standpoint of a Ford accountant, the return is lamentable. Those dollars are all-important.

Ford’s sales fell almost 10% in Europe during the first half of 2012 to reach its lowest level in 17 years and a predicted $1bn (£630m) loss in revenues. Factories are going to close, and essentials such as energy consumption are being targeted in the remaining factories – so an expensive WRC programme of, say, £30 million per year looks like a hard sell. Ford is suffering as European car sales fall to new lows Ford’s budget has itself been repeatedly slashed over the years since its high watermark in the days of McRae, Sainz and the first generation Focus WRC… by 40 per cent in 2004 and by a similar figure again in 2008. By comparison VW is believed to have spent 100 million Euros just getting to the startline with its Polo WRC – and will throw whatever is needed at the competition budget to succeed… including Latvala’s salary.

Tellingly, since 2009, motor sport no longer has its own director within Ford’s European management structure – Gerard Quinn is but a manager (and a renowned budgetary hitman), who reports in to both the Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Service and to the Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs. Success on the stages is one thing, therefore, but if taking part in rallies is failing to shift metal off the forecourt then there’s no reason for Ford to devote a hefty chunk of its budget to the WRC. The one thing that Quinn has in common with Ford’s earlier motor sport directors such as Mark Deans and Martin Whitaker is a preoccupation with how badly the WRC has done at selling itself. Whether it’s service parks that are hidden away out of the public eye rather than encouraging the locals in to explore, the lunacy of holding the Rally of Italy in Sardinia rather than the mainland or the absence of investment in online access to the sport… year after year the Ford bosses have watched millions of dollars getting thrown into the weeds.

Ford has lamented that WRC events are based off the beaten track Since the end of 2011, Ford has had to carry this cost without Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority funding. The cars carry Castrol colours but BP is a production partner to Ford Motor Company, meaning that a lot of what is believed to be a notional $10 million ‘sponsorship’ is in fact made up from deals that help deliver cars more cheaply rather than direct cash to the rally programme. A year ago, Ford renewed its wedding vows to the WRC with a 24-month agreement to M-Sport. Gerard Quinn was absolutely transparent about the rationale, however: “We had to be confident about the stability of the championship and to ensure it continues to provide great value and increased exposure globally,” he said. “We discussed it with our stakeholders and after receiving such assurances we look forward to focusing on competition once again.” What happened? The WRC promotion imploded a month later, with the 2012 series taking place in a virtual blackout. As a result, Quinn made noises about switching to a cost-effective and well-promoted effort in the IRC but this is no longer available.

So all eyes at Ford’s offices in Cologne will be on what Red Bull is going to make of the job of selling the WRC worldwide. Quinn (right) has to be able to justify Ford’s WRC campaign beyond 2013 In three months’ time, Red Bull Media House will open its account as the WRC promoter with the biggest event on the calendar, the Monte Carlo Rally. That one event must set the tone for the year as a whole in how the WRC presents itself to the world from that point onward. Let’s assume that they’re starting with a clean sheet of paper, not only developing online platforms for the WRC but also attacking all the TV stations that they are advertising with around the world, massaging the American interest in rallycross and working together with the teams to ensure maximum effort in all promotional activity. After that, however, the job of keeping Ford in the WRC must rest with Malcolm Wilson and the M-Sport team. They have to give Gerard Quinn the tools that he needs to go to the accountants in Cologne and justify committing to the series until 2015 at least.

The revenues that M-Sport brings from selling and servicing customer cars in the WRC, WRC2, WRC3, regional and national series might give leverage to ease the pain – although it must now face competition in the marketplace from Peugeot, Renault, Toyota and Citroën. More importantly, the WRC programme itself needs to show signs of success, and produce either Ford’s first drivers’ championship victory since 1981 or its first manufacturers’ crown since 2007 – with or without Jari-Matti Latvala. Share this: 1 So he’s done it. With the 75th WRC victory of his astonishing career, Sébastien Loeb has ensured his ninth consecutive drivers’ championship – with Daniel Elena taking the honours as co-driver for the ninth time and Citroën taking its eighth manufacturers’ crown. This is not news, of course. We had all been expecting this result, and once the rally proper got underway on Saturday morning, Loeb did what was needed and built towards the magic 30-second cushion.

At the halfway point this was done – not even Colin McRae at his feistiest ever thought that a 30s gap was surmountable if both cars were running well. The 2012 Rallye de France-Alsace became yet another tour-de-force and thereafter the hyperbole began to spout – as did the detractors who claim that Loeb can’t be compared to (insert the name of your preferred 1970s-1990s icon here) because of the lack of competition in the sport during his reign. Well… yes and no. The WRC has crumbled during Loeb’s reign, with only Ford offering any meaningful resistance at all from 2006. But let us not forget that in his early years, Loeb was thrown into the lion’s den. Astonishing pace defeated all the big names – if not the rules!

– on 2002 Monte The biggest and most successful names of the previous generation may have been getting long in the tooth but the likes of Sainz, McRae, Burns, Makinen, Grönholm, Delecour, Auriol and Panizzi were all very much active when the ‘boy wonder’ appeared in their midst. Loeb even had both Sainz and McRae as team-mates in 2003 and outpaced them both. Those who say that the WRC became boring in the Loeb/Citroën era also have a point, although that is no fault of the competitors. From the high water mark of seven manufacturers doing battle in 1999-2000 it fell to six in 2001, five in 2004, three in 2006 and two in 2009. There are also many who decry the metronomic precision with which Loeb and Elena applied themselves to the job – that a scientific, calculated approach is an anathema to going sideways through forests at 100mph. Well, yes, but the thing is that inspirational drivers seldom achieve as much as they should.

2006 title secured with privateer Kronos effort – and a broken arm! In F1 Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve and Jean Alesi won hearts but seldom races and never titles. In rallying Markku Alén never won a pukka world championship and neither did Henri Toivonen. Colin McRae was too inconsistent too repeat his 1995 title despite all the efforts of first Subaru and then Ford. Pace is one thing, but control is quite another. Being able to drive within the limits of yourself and your car and still be so far ahead of rivals of the calibre of, say, Marcus Grönholm in the course of season after season, on snow, asphalt and gravel and all the many permutations of the WRC calendar… that is undeniably special. Four titles came at the wheel of the Citroën C4 WRC That is why WRF joins the salute to our record-breaking world champion as he seals what might just be his last WRC title. We hope not, because we’re a bit anally retentive and 10 titles is a much better number to retire with than nine.

Perhaps that’s how Seb is going to make it more of a challenge next year – he won the title in 2006 despite missing the last four rounds, so why not skip a few more and still clean up on awards night? After all, when you look at what Loeb has achieved – and Elena and Citroën – it goes far beyond any rational argument to say that it can’t happen. Loeb holds records for the most championships, rally wins, stage wins, podium finishes and points in WRC history – records of towering achievement that it will take almost a decade for a similarly-accomplished driver to match. To do so would mean the sort of skill that has delivered only 25 retirements from 162 starts, and aside from Loeb, that’s a statistic nobody has achieved. When you look at it that way, you can only wonder where the likes of Mikko Hirvonen, Petter Solberg and Jari-Matti Latvala have even found the willpower to turn up and offer any sort of resistance over the past few years. They were in the best place to know that, when it comes to Loeb, resistance is futile.

Leaping into the history books in 2012 Félicitations, champion des champions – et bonne chance à l’avenir. Share this:

Question: Which car manufacturer did Colin McRae win his first WRC title ?
Answer: Subaru