{"id":54606,"date":"2018-07-20T15:53:27","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T14:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/issue_content\/the-james-dean-of-rallying\/"},"modified":"2022-11-22T16:09:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T16:09:55","slug":"james-dean-rallying","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/february-2018\/62\/james-dean-rallying\/","title":{"rendered":"Colin McRae: Colleagues and rivals on ‘The James Dean of rallying’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

To some observers the World Rally Championship has lost its way in recent years. The fact every driver\u2019s title since 2004 has been taken by a Frenchman named S\u00e9bastien is impressive, but hasn\u2019t helped the sense of stagnation. And a well-intentioned attempt to make the cars faster and more exciting is yet to deliver the anticipated spectacle. For all the metronomic brilliance of Loeb<\/a> and Ogier, the ever-increasing capability of the cars and the attempts to make it more spectator-friendly, there remains a nostalgic sense that rallying isn\u2019t what it used to be.<\/p>\n

For a taste of the sport\u2019s glory days, the annual San Marino-based Rally Legend event offers a sense of what\u2019s been lost. Fast stages on closed roads, passionate fans packing the routes and a huge spread of classic rallying. And in 2017 it had an extra element, too: a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the death of one the sport\u2019s most charismatic performers, Colin McRae<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fact that it was Colin meant a galaxy of stars turned out to pay their respects, including 10 former world champions. Surveying a paddock filled with iconic rally cars and the drivers who made their reputations with them, Colin\u2019s father Jimmy McRae was quite overcome at how many had chosen Rally Legend to pay their respects. \u201cIt\u2019s emotional for us,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s never been a gathering like this and I don\u2019t think there will be again. It\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n \"McRae\n
\n

Nothing less than full commitment was ever shown by McRae<\/p>\n

\n DPPi\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

But what is it about Colin that captures the imagination of both fans and fellow drivers, even those too young to have met him or seen him compete? Occasionally hot-headed, sometimes prickly with the media and stubborn to the core, he was not without his flaws. And although his extraordinary talent was never in question, in statistical terms his record has been surpassed by many.<\/p>\n

Ari Vatanen, the 1981 world champion, has his theory. \u201cHe is the James Dean of rallying,\u201d he said, that sense of a huge and charismatic talent taken prematurely perhaps playing its part. But time and again, from fans to fellow drivers, it\u2019s McRae\u2019s driving style that unites opinion. From Biasion to Auriol, Blomqvist to Solberg you get the same response \u2013 all use words like \u201cspectacular\u201d and \u201cflamboyant\u201d to describe McRae\u2019s approach and it\u2019s clear from the fans\u2019 response that they also appreciate this style. After all, you don\u2019t spend hours on a cold, dark hillside or climb a tree to watch a car carve past you clinically on a perfect line \u2013 you do so because you want to be showered with stones from one being pushed so hard it\u2019s dropping a wheel off the road, spitting flames and teetering on that fine line between glory and disaster.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

From the archive<\/h2>\n \t\t\n\t\n
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscriber<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArchive<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMax McRae’s third-generation rally ambition: ‘Destiny is calling me’\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

It\u2019s 1995, and Colin McRae has just become Britain\u2019s first World Rally champion and the youngest driver ever to clinch the title. Fast forward nearly 25 years, and here comes…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarch 2020\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIssue<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Mills<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
\n

Modern WRC machines have higher limits and are faster than ever but demand a more calculating style. Getting the most out of the cars in the McRae era often required going over the ragged edge, a characteristic that suited Colin\u2019s style and endeared him to the fans. But it was more than that \u2013 McRae\u2019s victories did not come from tactics or playing the long game, they simply came from an utter determination to go as fast as possible and be quicker on the day than anyone else. This romance is what keeps the passion for rallying alive, and what brings fans in their thousands to an event like Rally Legend. Here, they see the flame still burning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy for people to identify themselves with someone like Colin,\u201d said Vatanen. \u201cHe worked his heart out and that is what sport is all about. It\u2019s what humanity is all about \u2013 you push limits and you don\u2019t play some calculated games. He never did and you may win fewer rallies but maybe you live a richer life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here \u2013 in the words of family, friends, team-mates, rivals and those he inspired \u2013 is what made Colin McRae so special.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ari Vatanen<\/strong>
\nFormer world champion and one of McRae\u2019s Subaru team-mates<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n \"Colin\n
\n

Vatanen draws parallels between himself and McRae<\/p>\n

\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure it is true that we had a similar style. It is easy to observe and one reason we got on so well is because we found ourselves on the same side \u2013 we discussed it with David Richards. Colin\u2019s raw talent was very obvious and I remember when he came to our first Prodrive session in Wales \u2013 his first proper test with the Subaru Legacy. So I took him out \u2013 Colin and Ari in the same car! \u2013 and said to myself, \u2018I\u2019m going to show this young guy a thing or two, I can still teach him.\u2019 So we go one time out and one time back and I am coming too fast into a corner and we rolled \u2013 that was the end of that test. That was how I introduced him to the Subaru team! Very, very embarrassing…<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are of course issues that are far above the numbers, the octane, the brake horses or whatever. If you have a kind of a perfect life it\u2019s not a real life. People may respect you for winning, but they can\u2019t identify themselves with you, because they know in their own lives it\u2019s very often an uphill struggle and they can identify with someone who is needing to fight. And then, of course, like very often with shooting stars in life, they remain with us just because humanly speaking they leave too early. You don\u2019t measure the value of life by its length.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alister McRae<\/strong>
\nColin\u2019s younger brother<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n \"Alistair\n
\n

Alistair McRae: “it was 100 per cent all the time and I think that just stuck in people\u2019s minds”<\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cWhy do people love him? I think it\u2019s just the way he drove with such flamboyant style. He obviously proved he could be steady and consistent on the Safari and the Acropolis, but when that wasn\u2019t needed it was 100 per cent all the time and I think that just stuck in people\u2019s minds. Back then the cars were more sideways and they didn\u2019t need to be driven the way the cars are driven today. They were more spectacular and the fans loved it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think wherever you go they\u2019re all very passionate. When you go to Argentina or Spain, they\u2019re all very passionate about motor sport and Colin\u2019s style. And this event almost goes back in time the way it\u2019s run, the spectators just love it and people have travelled such a long way to be here. I met a woman who came over from Australia \u2013 she went to MotoGP, Formula 1 and then here.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Didier Auriol<\/strong>
\n1994 world champion who lost his title to McRae the following year\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI was fighting with Colin a lot of the time so I think of him very often. He was a spectacular driver and what I remember is that we had a little bit of the same style. It was his style of driving the fans love, maybe the crashes too but that was Colin. But you know it was always full attack and he wanted to be the best. Of course everyone wants to do that, but if there was a jump Colin would be in the air more. If you were on motorbikes he just wanted to go faster than anyone!<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n

\u201cI think the people at this event like the old-style rallies, the passion of the cars and what the drivers do with them because everyone would like to do what we have done. It was such a nice job and I think people have a good memory of this time. It\u2019s incredible how people like the stories of the old rally cars and drivers, but we all have a good feeling about Colin and if we can do something with his family it is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

S\u00e9bastien Loeb<\/strong>
\nNine-time world champion and one of McRae\u2019s Citro\u00ebn team-mates<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cColin is a legend. I really discovered rallying through the Colin McRae game and I had some seasons where I was team-mate with him and he was a nice guy, a funny guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at Citro\u00ebn before him, but when Citro\u00ebn told me he would be my team-mate I thought it would answer a lot of questions. Was I really good? Was my car better than before? Finally, I had my first real point of reference. The first time I won we were driving the same car on the same rally, so it was some good news!<\/p>\n

\n \"Sebastien\n
\n

Loeb formed a good working relationship with McRae when the two were team-mates<\/p>\n

\n Alamy\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cWe had different styles but that didn\u2019t matter \u2013 you can still work together to improve the car and we can see what works better. If he was flying then you can identify yourself, we understand what happened. He helped us a lot to develop the car because I didn\u2019t have any experience of WRC machinery at the time – we had the electronic diff and had to do all the set-up, so his experience helped.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Petter Solberg<\/strong>
\nFormer world champion, two-time WRX champion and ex-McRae team-mate<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWhy are we here? It\u2019s all about history. Colin was my team-mate, he helped me massively because I came in the car with him when I was very young and then we developed the Colin McRae game together, went on vacation together. We have been very close and here we have all the drivers together. It\u2019s incredible, it won\u2019t happen very often.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a special guy, big attack, very competitive and especially his driving style.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Miki Biasion<\/strong>
\nWorld champion in 1988 and 1989<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cColin was so crazy, his style was so entertaining for everyone to see. He was an acrobat, that is why people liked him so much. He had many spectacular accidents but he would always try and get back on the road. For me or the other drivers, if we have a problem in the car we stop immediately. He could have 20 rolls, come back from the forest and be fighting again. He has been one of the most spectacular drivers and it is so nice for all of us to join together \u2013 this is a great opportunity to have a drink all together after a few years. I\u2019m enjoying it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Related article<\/h2>\n \n\t\n
\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Grist\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRally News<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGrist on McRae’s 2001 heartbreak: ‘It was a disaster \u2013 but the people loved Colin’\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Colin McRae was tantalisingly close to a second WRC title, but for a disastrous split-second decision \u2013 Nicky Grist recalls that topsy-turvy 2001 WRC season<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Elson<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
\n

\u201cAs you can see, this event is full of rally fans. People say rallying is not as popular as it was in the past, but look how many spectators have come to see young and old drivers together. Rallying is still alive!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stig Blomqvist<\/strong>
\n1984 world champion<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t compete together but he was an incredible driver, a really talented guy, totally instinctive and always giving it 100%. He was a guy who came from a motor sport family too and absolutely never gave up, always trying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good fun driving at Rally Legend, especially with the chance to drive my Sport Quattro S1 after so many years – it\u2019s my car from Argentina 1985 and lots of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nicky Grist<\/strong>
\nFormer McRae co-driver \u2013 they shared 17 victories together<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n \"Colin\n
\n

McRae and Grist claimed 17 WRC wins together<\/p>\n

\n DPPI\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cI think the reason people here love him so much is that he was a very competitive person in the car, out of the car – if it was four wheels or two wheels he was your man. He drove with such flair. I think that is why people admired him so much – his driving style was very individual, very fast but very flamboyant and the spectators just loved him for it. I was fortunate enough to spend some great time with him, won a hell of a lot of rallies, and I am one of the lucky ones to have experienced it as his passenger. Okay, it wasn\u2019t all plain sailing but to be honest the good times were fantastic and the not-so-good times were acceptable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself in a position where I was head-hunted from Juha [Kankkunen] to go with Colin and, at that time, it was arguably a little bit risky because of this \u2018Colin McCrash\u2019 reputation. But there were a few things I brought to the table, so it was definitely the right move. I think David Richards wanted to have someone who could be a calming influence on him as much as anything else and I think that\u2019s where I came into the equation. But when I joined him we hit it off straight away and I didn\u2019t really have to do that much really, other than telling him to take it easy or be calm at certain times. Colin knew the change of co-driver meant he had to change his ways and concentrate a little bit more. Our relationship just gelled and we ended up winning five rallies in our first year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a person you needed to know him before he let you in. He was quite guarded and quite shy around strangers, so I think a lot of people didn\u2019t see inside him, probably saw him as quite grumpy and quite moody. The press always had a hard time but as a co-driver we bonded straight away and we got on very well because we rallied hard, we partied hard and we worked hard as well. Socially he was a bit of a timebomb \u2013 you never knew when it was going to happen, or where, but when it did you knew you were going to have a hell of a funny time and I think that\u2019s a side very few people had an opportunity to see.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

From the archive<\/h2>\n \t\t\n\t\n
\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tArchive<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe flame still burns\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t

Ten years ago the late Richard Burns became England’s only World Rally Champion. He’s not forgotten, as our very personal road trip showed In many ways, it feels like more…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDecember 2011\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIssue<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tAnthony Peacock<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
\n

\u201cI think the one thing for which people know him best is his driving style, because he was so incredibly flamboyant. He\u2019d always be the highest and furthest over the jumps, he\u2019d always be the most sideways and in modern terms the way Colin drove was very uneconomical against the clock. But even in the middle of a rally, if Colin saw a crowd there would be a big slide. Don\u2019t get me wrong, if you were in a fight for the lead he wouldn\u2019t squander wins for the sake of having fun, but if we were having an average rally and he saw some spectators he\u2019d just showboat a bit \u2013 and that\u2019s why they loved him. He never stopped trying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he had an opportunity to win he had an enormous passion to be the fastest, to win as many stages as he could, to be leading at the end of the first, second and third legs and to win the rally. It was all about being first, and while we all love him for what he\u2019s done, in rallying terms that was his biggest downfall because if he could only have accepted second place sometimes he would probably have achieved far more in terms of results.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalcolm Wilson said the one thing he can remember more than anything else was the 1999 Safari, when we started with the Focus. It was brand-new, it hadn\u2019t finished a rally. Colin never even had a puncture in it and although we were not fastest on one section of that rally, we won it by a huge margin. He applied himself so well to these rough events – we won the Acropolis three times on the trot, we won Cyprus which was a rough event and we won Argentina, also generally a rough event. He applied this system and suddenly Colin McRae wasn\u2019t this Scottish lunatic driving flat out, he was using his head. He turned all these rounds that weren\u2019t his strong events into his strongest \u2013 and that\u2019s where I think I brought something to the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe died 10 years ago, he was a world champion 22 years ago but look at all these world champions who\u2019ve come here to support and celebrate him. It\u2019s tremendous and I think if anybody had half his following they would be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

S\u00e9bastien Ogier<\/strong>
\nCurrent world champion<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cI think Colin has always been a role model. I\u2019m from a generation who never met him, but first knew him through a video game as a kid and then, of course, I knew he was a big champion of our sport with a lot of charisma and very spectacular. When Luis Moya contacted us to bring all the champions together in memory of Colin, I immediately thought it was a good idea and that is why we\u2019re here today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fans like you for your success and everything you achieve and, of course, you attract a lot of respect this way. But you also catch a lot of fans by the way you drive and the charisma you have and that\u2019s the main thing about Colin \u2013 he was spectacular, he was driving to the limits and I think the fans enjoyed it even if he won \u2018only\u2019 one title.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere at Rally Legend the passion for motor sport is very big, especially for rallying, and when you come to Italy you know you\u2019re going to be celebrated and people are going to appreciate what you do. They have an interesting concept with this rally \u2013 you can see a lot of cars of every generation and this year we managed to unite nearly all the champions, which makes it really special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":1310749,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[124748,118723],"tags":[167,211],"issue_decade":[121600],"issue_year":[121673],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/54606"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issue_content"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54606"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/54606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1310781,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/54606\/revisions\/1310781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1310749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54606"},{"taxonomy":"issue_decade","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_decade?post=54606"},{"taxonomy":"issue_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_year?post=54606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}