McRae's Helicopter Incident
Discussion
When I first started seriously following motorsport I had read about a rising star in rallying and how this man had become the first Briton to win a World Rally Championship event for nearly 20 years. Needing a fix during the off season I tuned into the then Top Gear Rally Report and the story then was of this young upstart leading the event ahead of a soon-to-be four time champion. Naturally this was exciting stuff but Tony Mason kept reminding us that he had done similar the year before, only to crash out. Sure enough the next day the inevitable happened but it was a fillip in those long winter months.
12 months later we were witnessing the same thing, the champion-elect may have been in the other Toyota and may have been locked in a tense battle but Colin McRae was leading and whether he would make it stick was all that mattered. The historic win came and Britain had a new star.
Fast forward another year and this time the stakes were much higher. In those 360-odd days we’d seen the initial promise of a world title fade, then the crisis talks with David Richards and then it all seemed to come together. Suddenly Colin was the contender he’d always threatened to be, the rough edges smoothed just enough to allow consistency but not caution. Some have called him the Michael Schumacher of Rallying, I prefer to think of his F1 counterpart as Gilles Villeneuve. Yes Colin was that exciting to watch.
At the penultimate round in Spain, team orders had demanded a Sainz win in order to guarantee both cars finished without crowd intervention. The images of a team member waving frantically to slow Colin down, then the subdued interview with him walking off to kick the side of the team truck while the cameras still rolled, these were all repeated during the tense hours that followed on the Network Q.
A real rally in those days, it lasted half a week and took in much of the country, stages occurring at night, in snow, fog, rain, pretty much everything Britain in November could offer. And there was Kielder. It could have hosted a championship of its own, miles and miles of forest road, if we were to use another F1 comparison then Kielder was the Nurburgring Nordschleife, with the old Spa thrown in for good measure.
Colin’s car barely made it out of Kielder, entering the stage neck-and-neck with Sainz, he left it having repaired his suspension with branches and rocks, over a minute behind. We wondered if it was all over. If we did, no-one told McRae. With a couple of days to go, he clawed most of the time back 24 hours later. These were the most tense days I could remember, unlike F1 and pre-internet you had to wait for occasional news reports. And when they came they were encouraging, but there was always the worry he had pushed too hard, taken too many risks.
But it was Sainz who looked the more worried and by the final day it was all too inevitable, on this day, on home territory, nothing could stop McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer. Remember Colin this way:
12 months later we were witnessing the same thing, the champion-elect may have been in the other Toyota and may have been locked in a tense battle but Colin McRae was leading and whether he would make it stick was all that mattered. The historic win came and Britain had a new star.
Fast forward another year and this time the stakes were much higher. In those 360-odd days we’d seen the initial promise of a world title fade, then the crisis talks with David Richards and then it all seemed to come together. Suddenly Colin was the contender he’d always threatened to be, the rough edges smoothed just enough to allow consistency but not caution. Some have called him the Michael Schumacher of Rallying, I prefer to think of his F1 counterpart as Gilles Villeneuve. Yes Colin was that exciting to watch.
At the penultimate round in Spain, team orders had demanded a Sainz win in order to guarantee both cars finished without crowd intervention. The images of a team member waving frantically to slow Colin down, then the subdued interview with him walking off to kick the side of the team truck while the cameras still rolled, these were all repeated during the tense hours that followed on the Network Q.
A real rally in those days, it lasted half a week and took in much of the country, stages occurring at night, in snow, fog, rain, pretty much everything Britain in November could offer. And there was Kielder. It could have hosted a championship of its own, miles and miles of forest road, if we were to use another F1 comparison then Kielder was the Nurburgring Nordschleife, with the old Spa thrown in for good measure.
Colin’s car barely made it out of Kielder, entering the stage neck-and-neck with Sainz, he left it having repaired his suspension with branches and rocks, over a minute behind. We wondered if it was all over. If we did, no-one told McRae. With a couple of days to go, he clawed most of the time back 24 hours later. These were the most tense days I could remember, unlike F1 and pre-internet you had to wait for occasional news reports. And when they came they were encouraging, but there was always the worry he had pushed too hard, taken too many risks.
But it was Sainz who looked the more worried and by the final day it was all too inevitable, on this day, on home territory, nothing could stop McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer. Remember Colin this way:
Blimey!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/6997784.s...
Dave Richard's helicopter crashed today on the way back from Spa, but all escaped without injury.
I wonder what the first conspiracy theory will be given his and McRae's links
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/6997784.s...
Dave Richard's helicopter crashed today on the way back from Spa, but all escaped without injury.
I wonder what the first conspiracy theory will be given his and McRae's links
LocoBlade said:
Blimey!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/6997784.s...
Dave Richard's helicopter crashed today on the way back from Spa, but all escaped without injury.
I wonder what the first conspiracy theory will be given his and McRae's links
ARRRGGHHHH the italian maffia are trying to kill everybody with a connection to McLaren!http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/6997784.s...
Dave Richard's helicopter crashed today on the way back from Spa, but all escaped without injury.
I wonder what the first conspiracy theory will be given his and McRae's links
kevin ritson said:
When I first started seriously following motorsport I had read about a rising star in rallying and how this man had become the first Briton to win a World Rally Championship event for nearly 20 years. Needing a fix during the off season I tuned into the then Top Gear Rally Report and the story then was of this young upstart leading the event ahead of a soon-to-be four time champion. Naturally this was exciting stuff but Tony Mason kept reminding us that he had done similar the year before, only to crash out. Sure enough the next day the inevitable happened but it was a fillip in those long winter months.
12 months later we were witnessing the same thing, the champion-elect may have been in the other Toyota and may have been locked in a tense battle but Colin McRae was leading and whether he would make it stick was all that mattered. The historic win came and Britain had a new star.
Fast forward another year and this time the stakes were much higher. In those 360-odd days we’d seen the initial promise of a world title fade, then the crisis talks with David Richards and then it all seemed to come together. Suddenly Colin was the contender he’d always threatened to be, the rough edges smoothed just enough to allow consistency but not caution. Some have called him the Michael Schumacher of Rallying, I prefer to think of his F1 counterpart as Gilles Villeneuve. Yes Colin was that exciting to watch.
At the penultimate round in Spain, team orders had demanded a Sainz win in order to guarantee both cars finished without crowd intervention. The images of a team member waving frantically to slow Colin down, then the subdued interview with him walking off to kick the side of the team truck while the cameras still rolled, these were all repeated during the tense hours that followed on the Network Q.
A real rally in those days, it lasted half a week and took in much of the country, stages occurring at night, in snow, fog, rain, pretty much everything Britain in November could offer. And there was Kielder. It could have hosted a championship of its own, miles and miles of forest road, if we were to use another F1 comparison then Kielder was the Nurburgring Nordschleife, with the old Spa thrown in for good measure.
Colin’s car barely made it out of Kielder, entering the stage neck-and-neck with Sainz, he left it having repaired his suspension with branches and rocks, over a minute behind. We wondered if it was all over. If we did, no-one told McRae. With a couple of days to go, he clawed most of the time back 24 hours later. These were the most tense days I could remember, unlike F1 and pre-internet you had to wait for occasional news reports. And when they came they were encouraging, but there was always the worry he had pushed too hard, taken too many risks.
But it was Sainz who looked the more worried and by the final day it was all too inevitable, on this day, on home territory, nothing could stop McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer. Remember Colin this way:
Great post 12 months later we were witnessing the same thing, the champion-elect may have been in the other Toyota and may have been locked in a tense battle but Colin McRae was leading and whether he would make it stick was all that mattered. The historic win came and Britain had a new star.
Fast forward another year and this time the stakes were much higher. In those 360-odd days we’d seen the initial promise of a world title fade, then the crisis talks with David Richards and then it all seemed to come together. Suddenly Colin was the contender he’d always threatened to be, the rough edges smoothed just enough to allow consistency but not caution. Some have called him the Michael Schumacher of Rallying, I prefer to think of his F1 counterpart as Gilles Villeneuve. Yes Colin was that exciting to watch.
At the penultimate round in Spain, team orders had demanded a Sainz win in order to guarantee both cars finished without crowd intervention. The images of a team member waving frantically to slow Colin down, then the subdued interview with him walking off to kick the side of the team truck while the cameras still rolled, these were all repeated during the tense hours that followed on the Network Q.
A real rally in those days, it lasted half a week and took in much of the country, stages occurring at night, in snow, fog, rain, pretty much everything Britain in November could offer. And there was Kielder. It could have hosted a championship of its own, miles and miles of forest road, if we were to use another F1 comparison then Kielder was the Nurburgring Nordschleife, with the old Spa thrown in for good measure.
Colin’s car barely made it out of Kielder, entering the stage neck-and-neck with Sainz, he left it having repaired his suspension with branches and rocks, over a minute behind. We wondered if it was all over. If we did, no-one told McRae. With a couple of days to go, he clawed most of the time back 24 hours later. These were the most tense days I could remember, unlike F1 and pre-internet you had to wait for occasional news reports. And when they came they were encouraging, but there was always the worry he had pushed too hard, taken too many risks.
But it was Sainz who looked the more worried and by the final day it was all too inevitable, on this day, on home territory, nothing could stop McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer. Remember Colin this way:
So very sad, the McRae family have my sympathies.....
Statement off Colin's website 
STATEMENT ISSUED ON BEHALF OF COLIN McRAE’S FAMILY
Speaking on behalf of the whole family, Colin’s father, Jim McRae, said today:
“It is with much sadness and regret that we have to make this statement.
It is unbelievable that Colin and Johnny’s lives have been taken so prematurely and in such a tragic manner.
Colin was a great son, a loving husband to Alison and a fantastic father to Johnny and his big sister Hollie. Johnny was a great wee guy, spending every spare minute with his dad, and even at this early stage it looked like he had the potential to carry on the family dynasty.
Our thoughts are also very much with the families of Ben Porcelli and Graeme Duncan. Ben was a great buddy of Johnny’s and they had always spent a lot of time together both in and out of school. Graeme, who now resides in France, had been a close friend of Colin’s since their schooldays and was back in Lanark on holiday.
We are thankful for the overwhelming number of messages of support we have received from all around the world. Colin was very much an inspiration and role model to motorsport fans the world over.
As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for the family and we would ask that our privacy be respected and we be allowed to grieve in private.”
STATEMENT ISSUED ON BEHALF OF COLIN McRAE’S FAMILY
Speaking on behalf of the whole family, Colin’s father, Jim McRae, said today:
“It is with much sadness and regret that we have to make this statement.
It is unbelievable that Colin and Johnny’s lives have been taken so prematurely and in such a tragic manner.
Colin was a great son, a loving husband to Alison and a fantastic father to Johnny and his big sister Hollie. Johnny was a great wee guy, spending every spare minute with his dad, and even at this early stage it looked like he had the potential to carry on the family dynasty.
Our thoughts are also very much with the families of Ben Porcelli and Graeme Duncan. Ben was a great buddy of Johnny’s and they had always spent a lot of time together both in and out of school. Graeme, who now resides in France, had been a close friend of Colin’s since their schooldays and was back in Lanark on holiday.
We are thankful for the overwhelming number of messages of support we have received from all around the world. Colin was very much an inspiration and role model to motorsport fans the world over.
As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for the family and we would ask that our privacy be respected and we be allowed to grieve in private.”
"As you can imagine this is a very difficult time for the family and we would ask that our privacy be respected and we be allowed to grieve in private.”
i hope the press try and take that on board, yes the motorsport world has lost a great man but a family has lost not only a great father but a young son.
rip all involved
i hope the press try and take that on board, yes the motorsport world has lost a great man but a family has lost not only a great father but a young son.
rip all involved
RIP Colin and Johnny. He actually did what we all wanted to do and did it well in a pre-Bernie era when a rally was a rally. I don't really want to get my head around this and feel even worse about his son. Colin HAD done it all, his son never got the chance. However it looks like they were devoted to each other. It's not the first time I have come across this but it always "gets" to me.
My GF spotted it in a newspaper earlier today and called me over. I can't really believe it... Britain has not only lost another great motorsport legend, buy a family has lost a father and his son. My thoughts go out to their family and friends.
Shocking to hear that Dave Richards and his wife also suffered a helicopter crash so soon after. I'm glad to hear their alright.
Shocking to hear that Dave Richards and his wife also suffered a helicopter crash so soon after. I'm glad to hear their alright.
Aweful news.
I saw Colin compete through his entire career, my first recolection of him was driving the little Vauxhall Nova on the Scotish rally, i had gone up to watch Jimmy on his way to the British Open championship and was gobsmacked to see the speed this screeming Nova was coming down the stage. He was one to watch from the outset.
I was lucky enough to then see him rise through the ranks and followed his progress through the lean years of trying to get that next drive in an XR4x4 or Cosworth Sierra, he was always Maximum Attack and faster than the car should have been.
A highlight for me was in 95, standing on the top of sweet lamb, part of the Hafren stage. I knew it well as we used that as our test stage, Colin was fighting back after a major loss of time and had to claw back time on Carlos to win the Rally and Championship. The car was dancing, devastatingly fast, he absolutely caked us in mud as he went past sideways, it was brilliant. Carlos was resigned to losing after seeing the way Colin destroyed his time.
We then rushed up to Chester and were in the stands of the racecourse when he picked up the rally trophy and the World Championship, the atmosphere was incredible. Back then it was so special to have a British driver winning at world level.
I didnt miss an RAC rally from the moment i could drive, until last year, and always enjoyed watching Colin drive. It was a privilege to see Colin and Richard compete at their peak, it's hard to believe they are both now gone.
My thoughts are with Colin's family and friends, i hope they take some comfort in knowing how much he will be missed all over the world.
I saw Colin compete through his entire career, my first recolection of him was driving the little Vauxhall Nova on the Scotish rally, i had gone up to watch Jimmy on his way to the British Open championship and was gobsmacked to see the speed this screeming Nova was coming down the stage. He was one to watch from the outset.
I was lucky enough to then see him rise through the ranks and followed his progress through the lean years of trying to get that next drive in an XR4x4 or Cosworth Sierra, he was always Maximum Attack and faster than the car should have been.
A highlight for me was in 95, standing on the top of sweet lamb, part of the Hafren stage. I knew it well as we used that as our test stage, Colin was fighting back after a major loss of time and had to claw back time on Carlos to win the Rally and Championship. The car was dancing, devastatingly fast, he absolutely caked us in mud as he went past sideways, it was brilliant. Carlos was resigned to losing after seeing the way Colin destroyed his time.
We then rushed up to Chester and were in the stands of the racecourse when he picked up the rally trophy and the World Championship, the atmosphere was incredible. Back then it was so special to have a British driver winning at world level.
I didnt miss an RAC rally from the moment i could drive, until last year, and always enjoyed watching Colin drive. It was a privilege to see Colin and Richard compete at their peak, it's hard to believe they are both now gone.
My thoughts are with Colin's family and friends, i hope they take some comfort in knowing how much he will be missed all over the world.
Also being discussed here. Plus some links to great clips of Colin as I'll remember him.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I am totally gutted for the family and on losing a legend.
I cant work out why this isnt a larger headline on the news and it isnt even a headline on the Pistonheads front home page? (unless I missed something)
I thought that the TV news would have been full of this today, even if it was to discuss the investigation in to the crash etc..
Farewell and RIP to all in the accident and thoughts go out to the Family members.
I cant work out why this isnt a larger headline on the news and it isnt even a headline on the Pistonheads front home page? (unless I missed something)
I thought that the TV news would have been full of this today, even if it was to discuss the investigation in to the crash etc..
Farewell and RIP to all in the accident and thoughts go out to the Family members.
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