Sep 17, 2007 11:46 am no idea who this guy is, but sorry for a loss none the less.
Colin McRae dies in helicopter crash
Posted on Sep 17, 2007 11:00 am
BeerHunter
www.TheLondonProject.ca
Member Since: Feb 07, 2005
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20793435/
LONDON - Colin McRae, whose fascination with cars grew into an obsession that led him to 25 wins in a World Rally Championship career, was killed in a helicopter crash along with his 5-year-old son and two others, police said Sunday. He was 39.
McRae was piloting the helicopter, which he owned and was licensed to fly, when it crashed Saturday in a wooded area near his home.
McRae raced in the World Rally Championship from 1987 until 2004, becoming champion in 1995. He also took part in the Paris to Dakar rally, the Le Mans 24 hour race, the Race of Champions and the X Games.
McRae also lent his name to a best-selling computer game, but it was his flamboyant racing style that earned fans in all types of motorsport and lifted the profile of rallying in Britain.
“He was really daring, always pushing it further,” Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen said. “I always liked his attitude. It was maximum attack always and he had some big rolls sometimes. Every time he had one, though it was like: ’Oh well, it’s just a roll,’ and he just carried on.”
Two other people also died in the crash — 6-year-old Ben Porcelli and 37-year-old Graeme Duncan. The aircraft was badly burned, making it impossible for police to immediately identify the occupants.
The son of five-time British rally champion Jimmy McRae, Colin McRae was competing on motorbikes by age 7. He competed in his first rally in 1985, but qualified as a plumber while he built his racing career, which kicked off when he became the British rally champion in 1991 and 1992.
“There was never a minute when he didn’t try 100 percent and, of course, we had lots of accidents,” said David Richards, who owned the Prodrive team that McRae raced with when he won his world title. “And it is with great irony that, with all the accidents he had in rally cars that he walked away from unscathed, this happens in a helicopter.”
He lifted the world title in 1995, and was runner-up in 1996, 1997 and 2001. He won 25 races in a World Rally Championship career that ran from 1987 to 2004. He made intermittent appearances on the WRC circuit until 2006.
“I didn’t set goals as I went along,” McRae told Autosport Magazine in January. “I just wanted to be quick as possible and win as much as possible.”
McRae spent 2006 working on an auto camp in Are, Sweden, which he wanted to become the world’s premier driving center. He also took part in a rally contest at the X Games over the past two years, including last month’s event in Carson, Calif.
In the 2006 event, McRae flipped his Subaru, tearing a wheel off the car but still finished second.
McRae’s success on the rally circuit led to a computer game “Colin McRae Rally,” first released in 1998, which is now found on PlayStation, Game Boy, Xbox and PSP platforms.
McRae received an MBE award in 1996 from Queen Elizabeth II. He was married and also has a daughter.
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Sep 17, 2007 11:46 am no idea who this guy is, but sorry for a loss none the less.
Sep 17, 2007 12:06 pm Arguably one of the best Rally racers ever. Had a bunch of Playstation/X-Box games made after him.
Sep 17, 2007 09:58 pm I watched every race he was in. I am a pretty big rally fan, and have been for years. He was indeed one of the greats. He raced in a few of the local rallies in northern MN in the off season for them I got a picture taken with him when I was working as a corner marshall at one of the races. Very common down to earth type guy. And did as much for the sport bringing it to greater attention world wide. I would compare him to the likes of Nascars Dale Earnhardt Senior. He was a huge influence on many of the younger drivers of today.
I remember watching races on sheer mountain sides were one false move would get you killed. He would be driving with one wheel over the edge all the damn time.
BH, I had no idea you were into Rally sport. I got an email from a friend about this yesterday late morning. I have to admit I was pretty bummed. Even the boyz liked watching WRC with me.
Sep 18, 2007 09:13 am Hey noise, ya I'm a bit of a fan... not huge but I do like to watch once in awhile. Here's a pic of my car ;)
Sep 19, 2007 03:34 pm Kyosho?
RC cars were a big hobby for me until shortly after having kids. Both gas and electric.
Sep 19, 2007 03:40 pm This is actually a Team Associated TC3 rally conversion. Since getting into music it has just been collecting dust. At times I miss racing but I simply don't have the time to do both... well including hockey I guess that would be three hobbies.... and well, no wife.
Sep 19, 2007 05:55 pm Ya, I ran the circuit in the five state area for s few years after doing it just local for awhile. Moved up to the 4 wheel drive class in both gas and electric and got a little sponsor money from Kyosho.
Started a local ice racing thing and then shortly after had to retire the cars. Small children eat small car parts, if you know what I mean. The wife was very supportive of it and actually bought me my first 4 wheel drive electric when I moved up from 2 wheel.
I kind of miss it, but as you stated, not enough time to really get into it these days.
Sep 19, 2007 06:24 pm Cool noise, didn't know you were into it as well. Best I ever did was 8th in the A mains at a competition in Tacoma. there were about 300 competitors there so finishing 8th was awesome to me anyways. Wow brings back memories. What a blast. We used to race for 3 minutes and I tell ya, 3 minutes is a long time when you have to stay focused and keep your cool.
Since this is a music site it should be noted that you will get premium soldering skills doing this as a hobby :)
Oh ya, and I should have posted this one earlier.
Sep 19, 2007 09:21 pm That is a sweet looking one as well. I kind of miss the comradery (sp) of the sport really. I raced with a pretty good bunch of guys. WE kept several local tracks running for awhile until land started getting hard to come by. Or bought up by developers. Then it was down to a few private tracks for us to practice at.
I went to nationals twice. Once in 2 wheel drive and once in the first year of the sanctioned 4 wheel drive class. Got to the A mains in the 2 wheel but got crashed out by some insane kid who basically go there by wrecking the opposition. Took a 3rd overall in the 4 wheel though my second time. It was a blast.
But the ice racing was the best. Set up in a hockey rink or arena. Studded tires and the whole nine. Guys were not fond of corner marshaling for those cars. The best part was I had built a custom pack warmer to keep the NiCads warm until race time.
A buddy of mine was the owner of RevTec and built all my motors for the electrics. I eventually switched to Reedy when they were still do custom winds.
You had to post those pic's didn't you. It just makes me want to go out and buy a kit to build just for messing around.
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