Remembering McRae ‘McCrash, the fearless ace Subaru driver

Colin McRae, the Scottish rally driver who passed on 16 years ago last Thursday remains an enigma even in death. 

He was celebrated by his legion of fans across the globe as the most spectacular, most talented and fearless driver of his generation.

His motto was  – “when in doubt, flat out”. He often lived by it, going flat out where others dared not, an unrelenting approach that cost him two WRC titles.

Wrecking cars and spectacular accidents became his other name, and this was accompanied by unimaginable stunts. 

He once downshifted while the car was upside down after a roll but resumed the action once the machine was upright.

His Youtube videos aboard the Blue Subaru Impreza GC8 first generation Group A car continue to mesmerise rally fans. Always fearless, always sideways, always on the limit, became his brand name, so was the famed Blue-Subaru Impreza STi.

He is so much intertwined with the story of rallying in the period between 1995 and 2002 than any other driver of his generation.

His driving style earned him the nickname “McCrash,” and shored up popularity of the WRC in Britain and the rest of the world as well as the Subaru brand which still exists. 

McRae won the WRC driver’s championship in 1995 driving for Subaru and helped win the manufacturer’s title for Subaru in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

In 1999, McRae joined Ford’s rally effort driving its new Focus rally car until 2002.

Majority reckons that he was one of the most gifted and fearless of all-times since his no hold barred display in the 1992 WRC 1000 Lakes Rally Finland.

In this Youtube clip McRae wrecked his car comprehensively twice but still continued to finish eighth overall in a car which was best suited for the junkyard. 

These stunts instantly earned him heartfelt admiration and a following from Finnish rally fans in a country where motorsport is next to God.

In the clip, the car appears over a crest and veers off the right side of the road, rolling quite literally through and over the trees but as soon as all four wheels hit the deck the Scot, who has already downshifted to first gear, heads back to the road. 

The fans quickly decided that McRae was far more fun to watch and possessed the pedigree of their heroes, the likes of Henri Toivonen and Ari Vatanen. 

So they quickly moved to the next stage to witness the next accident and it did happen.

This audacious display was to linger on for three more years before McRae did what other Britons had failed to do including his father Jimmy McRae -- win the FIA world driver’s title.

His story is well tied with that of the Safari bearing in mind that his last WRC victory in a Ford Focus WRC was here in Kenya in 2002, the same year the Safari lost its WRC status. 

McRae won Subaru’s first Safari Rally in 1997, and gave Ford their second victory in 1999 since Bjorn Waldergaard’s victory in 1977.

By then he had become a household name across the globe. He was not the greatest of all time but his driving style was a revelation. 

Kenyans fell in love with his driving style in 1993 when Noriyuki Koseki entered him in a tiny 900CC Subaru Vivio, a car he drove to the scrap yard with his heavy right foot.

He was British Rally Champion in 1991 and 1992 and raced in the BTCC with BMW at Knockhill in the latter, being disqualified after an incident with Matt Neal.

McRae took ninth overall spot in the 2004 24 Heures du Mans alongside Darren Turner and Rickard Rydell.

McRae died on September 15, 2007 in a helicopter accident near his family home in Lanark together with his five- year-old son Johnny and two family friends, Graeme Duncan and Johnny's friend Ben Porcelli.

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