by John Fife (21 Sep 07)

The world of sport has lost a champion, rallying has lost a true hero and the Scots have lost a genuine personality following the tragedy which robbed us of the lives of Colin McRae, his son Johnny, Johnny's school friend Ben Porcelli, and family friend Graeme Duncan. It was a shock which has left world rally fans reeling in disbelief and Scottish fans bereft.

Colin McRae was not just a successful rally driver, he was a supremely gifted, but modest individual who was thrust into the limelight. The driving was always something he could cope with, but it was the media pressure which took time for him to come to terms with. Over recent years, he was more able to deal with the high profile demands that his position required, but he never lost his common touch, a fact which endeared him to all who knew him.

After a successful career on two wheels as a junior motocross and motorcycle trials champion, Colin turned his attention to four wheels as soon as he turned 16. With his father Jim heavily involved in rallying, Colin needed a little bit of help to compete in autotest events with his self-built Mini, and so began a long association with Coltness Car Club where a number of club members took it in turns to take him to and from events.

His 17th birthday and a full licence couldn't come soon enough for the talented youngster. In a borrowed Hillman Avenger he was challenging for the lead of his first ever rally event at Kames at the tail end of 1985 before the inevitable happened. He hit a rock and the Avenger rolled - ever so slightly! He still finished, but a lowly 14th. If he thought he had cracked this rallying lark, his next outing on the Galloway Hills proved there was a lot more to learn, and he recorded his first ever non-finish.

A full season in the Esso Scottish Rally Championship followed in 1986 where his first regular co-driver, Nicky Jack, realised very early on, the lad was something special. His best result that year was 9th overall on the Autofit Stages in Argyll. Quite something in a 1600cc Talbot Sunbeam amongst all those hills.

He rounded off the year with 18th place on the Kingdom Stages and finished 18th overall in the Esso national series at his first attempt. He also finished third in the Newcomers category and was awarded the Jaggy Bunnet Flying Brick as the season's hardest trier. It was an award he later displayed proudly amongst an increasingly impressive and huge collection of gold, silver and crystal.

The following year he switched to a Vauxhall Nova with Derek Ringer, but not before he contested his first ever international event, the Swedish Rally in February, where Ian Grindrod was a last-minute stand-in co-driver.

According to Ian he was pressurised into the seat by Jim (McRae) because, as he claimed at the time, he was already too old to be sitting beside some ambitious, hard-driving youngster. Unfortunately Ian broke a rib in a road accident during the recce and an apprehensive Mike Broad was shipped across the water at the last minute. Fortunately, Mike quickly realised he was sitting beside a precocious, unfearing, but still decidedly raw talent.

More . . .

Back to People Features index
Back to main Features index