Colin McRae
Great Britain (GB)
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CAREER
PROFILE1986: Started rallying with Talbot Sumbeam
1987: Finished 36th on Swedis Rally with Vauxhall Nova on his WRC debut 1988: Joined Peugeot Junior team 1989: Drove Ford Sierra to fifth in New Zealand 1990: Sixth on RAC with Ford despite string of accidents1991: Joined Prodive Subaru, British Rally Champion 1992: Five WRC events, 2nd in Sweden, 8th WRC for Drivers, British Rally Champion for Subaru, taking all six wins 1993: Eight WRC events, 1st WRC win in New Zealand with Subaru, 8th WRC for Drivers 1994: Wins in New Zealand and RAC with Subaru, 4th WRC for Drivers 1995: Full WRC programme with Subaru, Wins in New Zealand and RAC, World Champion 1996: Wins in Acropolis, San Remo and Catalunya with Subaru, 2nd WRC for Drivers 1997: Winner of five WRC events with Subaru, 2nd WRC for Drivers 1998: Winner of three WRC events with Subaru, 3rd WRC for Drivers 1999: Move to Ford, wins in Kenya and Portugal, 6th WRC for Drivers 2000: Wins in Spain and Greece with Ford, 4th WRC for Drivers 2001: Drives Ford, Wins in Argentina, Cyprus and Greece, 2nd WRC for Drivers 2002: Drives Ford, Win in Greece and Kenya, 4th WRC for Drivers 2003: Move to Citroen, 7th WRC for Drivers 2005: Drives Skoda |
| Date of Birth: 5/8/1968 at Lanark Marital status: World Drivers' Champion:
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Colin McRae has become, without doubt, one of the outstanding rallying talents of his
generation, and possibly of all-time. He has become something of a rally legend for his
speed but also his car breaking reputation. He still holds the record for being the youngest ever WRC champion when he won
the title in 1995. In his home country, McRae was already a familiar and successful motor sporting name. His father Jimmy was five times British Rally Champion and has quietly been the mentor behind his son´s career. Before Colin could even hold a driving licence, he had been successful in motor sport, winning the Scottish schoolboy motorcross and trials championships when he was 13. At the age of 16 he won the West of Scotland auto-test (slalom) championship. He began rallying in 1986 and in 1987 joined the British Junior Rally Team to compete on the Swedish WRC event in a Vauxhall Nova when he finished 36th overall and 3rd in own class. Colin returned to the Swedish in 1989, this time with a Ford Sierra XR 4x4, finishing 15th overall. Later that year he went to New Zealand with a rear-drive Sierra Cosworth coming 5th. This showed what could happen in the future. He had a four-wheel drive Cosworth in 1990, finishing 2nd in the British Championship behind David Llewellin and coming 6th on the 1990 RAC. For 1991 a whole new world was opened when he was invited to join the Prodrive Subaru team for the 1991 British Rally Championship. He'd been runner-up with an R-E-D Ford Sierra the previous year, but rattled off four wins with Subaru to claim the title. His second year, 1993 saw him complete a whitewash, winning every round and never being headed on a single rally. Suddenly Britain had a genuine contender for the World Championship and, a year ahead of his initial intention, McRae hit the international scene in 1993. Britain's rally fans went wild when McRae stormed home to win in New Zealand, the first British win on a World Championship event since the late Roger Clark's RAC win in 1976. In 1994 McRae added Australia to his collection, rounding off the season with victory on the RAC - the first home win since Clark's in 1976. 1995 saw McRae win his home event for the second season in a row to finally clinch the sport's greatest prize, the Drivers' Championship. His big dream had become true - he was World Champion. Many thought a more experienced and mature McRae would dominate 1996. But, just as most thought he had outgrown his reputation for car-breaking, he demonstrated that he was still inconsistent with a disappointing year. Several errors led to wins or second place finishes being thrown away. Two victories at the end of the season, though, elevated him to second in the championship and went some way to tempering his team. In 1996 he was also awarded one of Britain’s highest honours when he was named a Member of the British Empire (MBE). In 1997, though, poor reliability was as much to blame as any flaws by McRae. Two sterling drives under intense pressure at the end of the season left McRae with only the RAC to win - provided rival Tommi Mäkinen didn't score any points. A gutsy drive to first place would have guaranteed him the title, had it not been for Mäkinen's calm run to sixth place. At the end of 1998 he left Subaru after eight years and moved to Ford. Wins in Kenya and Portugal showed his speed, but after that all went wrong. He retired eight times in a row and among the retirements were two very bad accidents. The old McRae "style" was found again. In 2000 he won in Spain and Greece, but was not able to fight for World Cahmpionship title after the very bad accident in Corsica. Season 2001 started badly, but in Greece he took his third consecutive World Rally Championship victory and was on the top again. In Greece 2002 he achieved a hat-trick on this rally and in Kenya he was able to achieve 25th WRC victory as a first driver in history. At the end of 2002 Ford decided that it would not renew his conctract and he left the team after four years and moved to Citroen. The season 2003 was not easy to him and he was forced out of the WRC when Citroen dropped him in favour of double world champion Carlos Sainz at the end of 2003. During the year 2004 McRae competed in the Dakar endurance Rally and the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race, as well as supporting the career of rising star Kris Meeke. Rumours of his come back to the WRC has been speculated much and in October 2004 he tested Skoda´s World Rally Car. In Rally Great Britain 2005 World Champion 1995 Colin McRae will join the Skoda team competing the event behind the wheel of the Skoda Fabia WRC05.
Colin McRaes dream of getting the Škoda Fabia WRC 05 onto the podium of
Rally Australia was shattered when a normally routine clutch change took
longer than expected just three stages from the finish. At the time the
Scot was lying third and ready to push hard to try and také second place
from Harri Rovanpera who had been dueling for the position with McRae for
most of the rally. |
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