Colin McRae at the in 2007Personal informationNationalityBorn( 1968-08-05)5 August 1968, Scotland, UKDied15 September 2007 (2007-09-15) (aged 39), Scotland, UKrecordActive years–, –Co-driverTeams,Rallies1461 25Podiums42Stage wins477Total points626First rally1987First win1993Last win2002Last rally2006Colin Steele McRae, (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007) was a Scottish driver from,. The son of five-time British Rally Champion and brother of rally driver, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 and, in became the first Scottish person and the youngest to win the, a record he still holds.McRae's outstanding performance with the enabled the team to win the three times in succession in 1995,. After a four-year spell with the team, which saw McRae win nine events, he moved to in where, despite not winning an event, he helped them win the first of their three consecutive manufacturers' titles. He was appointed a for services to motorsport in 1996.McRae died in 2007 when he crashed his helicopter near his home. The accident also killed his son and two family friends.
In November 2008 he was posthumously inducted into the. Main article:On his promotion for, McRae initially drove the -built alongside Finns Ari Vatanen,. McRae then won his first WRC rally in the car at that year's. 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. Such were the rising fortunes of his young Subaru factory team as they competed against the frontrunning -powered, who were excluded from the championship after the 1995 due to the use of an.
It took only until 1995 for McRae to win the drivers title, which he secured with a victory in a straight contest with his double champion teammate, on the season-ending. Although still a winner with the outfit in individual rallies in succeeding years, including, increasingly, more specialised events such as the, and the, McRae could not better second place in the standings in either 1996 or 1997, on both occasions behind Finland and 's. 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 he won three more rallies and placed third in the standings, as well as winning the in, the.1999–2002: Ford. The -GTS Maranello driven by McRae at theMcRae's competitive spirit also led him to compete in racing series other than the.
In September 2002 he tried his hand at oval racing when he took part in the Ascar (UK version of ) race at the, Northamptonshire; eventually finishing in sixth place.McRae rejoined for the where he took third place in the GTS class, and ninth position overall in a -GTS Maranello partnering. Fellow countryman, and Le Mans winner commented that 'Colin has adapted far better than people expected' to endurance sportscar racing.McRae, made his debut on the gruelling 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 event. He returned to the 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.'
In 2017, talking to podcast, confirmed that he and McRae had talked about McRae's comeback to Subaru for season 2008. Was contacted by McRae who asked him to be his co-driver and the pair was due to test together, but unfortunately the test never happened because of McRae's fatal helicopter accident.
Death McRae died on 15 September 2007 when his helicopter, a, crashed 1 (1.6 ) north of, Scotland, close to the McRae family home. 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, a popular funeral song. The song ' by, a favourite song of McRae's, was played when the family entered the chapel (coincidentally, Redding himself also died in an ).
' song ' 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 and.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 4 pm, Martin Hewins, McRae's personal bagpiper for many years, played ' 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 and song ', 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.In 2015, 20 years from when McRae clinched the 1995 WRC Championship, an exhibition of memorabilia, including cars, racing gears and pace notes, were displayed at a service park at 2015 Rally GB.
Reaction. McRae's father, driving a at the 2008 Colin McRae Forest Stages.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, (partnered by his 1981 WRC winning co-driver ), and, many competing in their original cars. A handful of current WRC drivers also took part including,. The event was deemed a great success, attracting record spectator numbers to the Perthshire forests. The outright winner was driver Matthew Wilson in a Ford Focus WRC.
Fittingly, Colin's brother won the classic category.In video game 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 Transport attended the scene in co-operation with Strathclyde Police. The wreckage of the helicopter was removed to for further forensic investigation. 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 its 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 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. Colin McRae Rally video game series.
Main article:released the first video game in 1998. Version 2, known as Colin McRae Rally 2.0, was released in the year 2000, for Sony's and; it was also to the in 2002. A third version found a wide audience on Windows. Versions 04 and 2005 arrived in 2004 on all major platforms.
2005 was also remade for Sony's and 's.was the title for the next instalment of the series, which launched in 2007 for Microsoft Windows,. The PlayStation 3 edition was released in the UK on 14 September, the day before McRae's death. A special edition for mobile phones was released by Codemasters Mobile.was released on the PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on 11 September 2009, the PC version was released on 8 December 2009. This was the last in the series to bear the 'Colin McRae' moniker.was released in Europe and North America on 24 May 2011, and two days later in Australia for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.took the series in a new direction, focusing on stadium events such. It was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 25 May 2012 in Europe and 12 July 2012 in North America, the Windows version was released 31 May 2012 in Europe and 23 May 2012 in North America.On 27 June 2013, a remastered version of Colin McRae Rally 2.0, simply titled Colin McRae Rally, was released for iOS devices.Following inspiration from the Colin McRae games, has come to PC in 2015 as an 'early access' title available via the distribution service. Unlike the previous titles, this instalment focuses on a realistic simulation of rallying. DiRT Rally has been released in December 2015 and includes some famous Colin McRae cars like his championship winning Subaru and his 2001 Ford Focus.Colin McRae R4.
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WRC - Wales Rally GB 2015: Tribute to Colin McRae. 16 September 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2007. Autosport Official Website. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2007.
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MacLeod, Murdo (30 September 2007). Scotland on Sunday. Archived from on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
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TouchArcade. Brown, Mark. Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 19 March 2018.Journals.
Colin Mcrae Rally 2005 Requirements
Evans, David (20 September 2007), 'McRae Tribute', Vol. 12, pp. 6–11, Haymarket Publications.External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.Awards and achievementsPreceded byNational Rally Driver of the Year1991–1992Succeeded byPreceded byInternational Rally Driver Award1994–1995Succeeded byPreceded byInternational Rally Driver Award(shared with )1997Succeeded bySporting positionsPreceded bySucceeded byPreceded byChampion of ChampionsSucceeded byRecordsPreceded by27 years, 249 days27 years, 109 daysSucceeded byIncumbentPreceded by24 wins(–)25 wins,25th at theSucceeded by26 wins,26th at the.