Flying Scot no more...
2144hrs: Was channel surfing today when I caught this piece of news. Colin McRae, one of the most brilliant World Rally Championship drivers of our time is no more. He died tragically in a helicopter crash on Saturday aged 39 along with his 5 year old son.
It was rather shocking news to hear considering I just watched him take part in the recent US X-Games Rally Race last month. Performing his usual agressive style of driving and even flipping the car on it's roof in the final run.
It's ironic that he has survived the treacherous conditions of rallying through mountainous roads but what ultimately claims him is a helicopter crash. In his career he has driven in Monte Carlo where he faced sheer vertical drops on one side and jagged cliff faces on the other, in Germany he rallied on narrow gravel tracks through the Bavarian forests and survived the harsh Australian outback. I vaguely remember watching him blaze through the challenging rallies in Europe in his Subaru Impreza 555 in the earlier part of my youth.
I have always been a fan of rallying as opposed to F1 due to the greater skill involved in WRC. Unlike F1 drivers who have the luxury of driving on baby smooth tarmac tracks, WRC drivers are put through tremendous stress driving through several different terrains(sometimes in one race) across treacherous undulating landscapes that involve sheer vertical drops, dense forests and rock strewn roads. Where the skills of drivers are continuously challenged. And in cases where the driver runs out of talent, the fans are delighted with spectacular crashes of bending metal and breaking glass. Unlike the rather boring explosions of warped carbon fibre and careening wheel struts in F1.
I'm sure the loss of this World Rally Champion will echo in the hearts of many rally fans for years to come along with the tragic death of his son. Which brings an end to any hope of hearing the McRae name in the future of rallying. He is survived by his daughter and wife.
Here's a couple of videos of McRae's insane driving which has won him many fans over the years...
This was the final interview he'd given at the recent X-Games last month where he celebrated his 39th Birthday
His performance at the last X-Games in 2006
A fitting tribute to a legend
Farewell to a WRC legend @ 2211hrs
It was rather shocking news to hear considering I just watched him take part in the recent US X-Games Rally Race last month. Performing his usual agressive style of driving and even flipping the car on it's roof in the final run.
It's ironic that he has survived the treacherous conditions of rallying through mountainous roads but what ultimately claims him is a helicopter crash. In his career he has driven in Monte Carlo where he faced sheer vertical drops on one side and jagged cliff faces on the other, in Germany he rallied on narrow gravel tracks through the Bavarian forests and survived the harsh Australian outback. I vaguely remember watching him blaze through the challenging rallies in Europe in his Subaru Impreza 555 in the earlier part of my youth.
I have always been a fan of rallying as opposed to F1 due to the greater skill involved in WRC. Unlike F1 drivers who have the luxury of driving on baby smooth tarmac tracks, WRC drivers are put through tremendous stress driving through several different terrains(sometimes in one race) across treacherous undulating landscapes that involve sheer vertical drops, dense forests and rock strewn roads. Where the skills of drivers are continuously challenged. And in cases where the driver runs out of talent, the fans are delighted with spectacular crashes of bending metal and breaking glass. Unlike the rather boring explosions of warped carbon fibre and careening wheel struts in F1.
I'm sure the loss of this World Rally Champion will echo in the hearts of many rally fans for years to come along with the tragic death of his son. Which brings an end to any hope of hearing the McRae name in the future of rallying. He is survived by his daughter and wife.
Here's a couple of videos of McRae's insane driving which has won him many fans over the years...
This was the final interview he'd given at the recent X-Games last month where he celebrated his 39th Birthday
His performance at the last X-Games in 2006
A fitting tribute to a legend
Farewell to a WRC legend @ 2211hrs
posted by Ben at 10:11 PM
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