And just like the flying Finn, Colin matured and became a hero to millions of rally fans all over the world.Ĭolin McRae and Nicky Grist celebrate their 1999 Safari victory “With McRae’s ‘if in doubt, flat out’ attitude, there’s no wonder he’s regarded as one of the most-loved Ford motorsport icons of all time”Ĭolin was the eldest son of five-times British Rally Championship winner Jimmy McRae, who along with Russell Brookes, had dominated British rallying events during the 1980s. The second time, he was doing the same to a Sierra RS Cosworth, and the third… Well, why do you think that his long-standing nickname was McCrash? His one-time team boss David Sutton described Ari Vatanen’s progress as ‘crash, win, break the car, crash, win…’ and Colin was like that in every way. The first time I saw Colin McRae on a British rally in the 1980s, he was picking tree branches out of the bodywork of his battered Vauxhall Nova. It was a perhaps slightly arrogant attitude, which eventually weighed against him. He never let his rallying life be dull, and his sport was never tackled cautiously.Īlong the way, he notched up an impressive total of bills to repair crashed cars and seemed not to care how much this was sometimes costing his employers. Maybe his top-line rally career was already over by the year in which he was taken from us, but as far as he was concerned there was still much more motorsport to be enjoyed.įamous son of a famous father – Colin McRae’s dad, Jimmy McRae, was British Rally Champion several times in the 1980s, twice in Sierra RS Cosworths like thisīefore he took up rallying, Colin had indulged in motorcycle trials and scrambles, but it was after watching his famous father, Jimmy McRae, win so well, so often and so stylishly in a rally car that he took up the sport. Everything in his life seemed to be enjoyed at top speed, and his career certainly reflected that.
Colin, who tragically died in a helicopter crash near his home in Scotland in 2007 (along with his son Johnny and two family friends) had no time to do anything slowly.
It may have been of shattering importance to Ford, and to M-Sport, which had built the car, but for Colin it was just another step along the way – he had, after all, won his first world championship round six years earlier, and had been world rally champion in 1995.Īs a personality, an icon, and, above all as a fiercely competitive driver, we’ll never forget him.
It’s been 22 years since Colin McRae won his first rally event in a Focus WRC, the Safari of 1999. Here’s why…įeature first appeared in Fast Ford magazine. One of the most iconic characters in motorsport, Colin McRae will forever be remembered as a true Ford hero.