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’s style and endeared him to the fans. But it was more than that – McRae’s 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.
“It’s easy for people to identify themselves with someone like Colin,” said Vatanen. “He worked his heart out and that is what sport is all about. It’s what humanity is all about – you push limits and you don’t play some calculated games. He never did and you may win fewer rallies but maybe you live a richer life.”
Here – in the words of family, friends, team-mates, rivals and those he inspired – is what made Colin McRae so special.
Ari Vatanen
Former world champion and one of McRae’s Subaru team-mates
“I’m 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 – we discussed it with David Richards. Colin’s raw talent was very obvious and I remember when he came to our first Prodrive session in Wales – his first proper test with the Subaru Legacy. So I took him out – Colin and Ari in the same car! – and said to myself, ‘I’m going to show this young guy a thing or two, I can still teach him.’ So we go one time out and one time back and I am coming too fast into a corner and we rolled – that was the end of that test. That was how I introduced him to the Subaru team! Very, very embarrassing…
“There 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’s not a real life. People may respect you for winning, but they can’t identify themselves with you, because they know in their own lives it’s 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’t measure the value of life by its length.”
Alister McRae
Colin’s younger brother
“Why do people love him? I think it’s 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’t needed it was 100 per cent all the time and I think that just stuck in people’s minds. Back then the cars were more sideways and they didn’t need to be driven the way the cars are driven today. They were more spectacular and the fans loved it.
“I think wherever you go they’re all very passionate. When you go to Argentina or Spain, they’re all very passionate about motor sport and Colin’s style. And this event almost goes back in time the way it’s 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 – she went to MotoGP, Formula 1 and then here.”
Didier Auriol
1994 world champion who lost his title to McRae the following year
“I 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!