16 years ago, Colin McRae left us

Sixteen years ago, on September 15, 2007, Colin McRae died in a helicopter accident. The Scotsman will have made rally history.

Published on 15/09/2023 à 15:02

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Colin McRae died 16 years ago, on September 15, 2007, in a helicopter crash at his home in Jerviswood, Scotland, with his son and two others. The disappearance of the 1995 champion of WRC permanently mourned the world of rally and motorsport in general.

Colin McRae started in the WRC in 1987 after following in the footsteps of his father Jimmy, a five-time British champion, but his career took off from 1991 when he landed a contract with Prodrive and Subaru. The man nicknamed “Colin McCrash” for his incisive driving style obtained his first victory at world level at the 1993 New Zealand Rally, an event which he also won the following year at the same time as its national event.

Colin McRae in WRC history

The 1995 season will be the year of consecration for Colin McRae. Although the Subaru driver only obtained two victories, his consistency allowed him to win the world crown. His performances remained high thereafter as he finished twice in a row as vice-world champion, a position he also returned to in 2001 after moving to Ford (from 1999) and having failed against Richard Burns even though he had a solid lead in the Championship. In 2002, he scored the last of his 25 WRC victories at the Safari Rally (Kenya).

Colin McRae left the WRC in 2003 after a lackluster season with Citroën with whom he only achieved one podium, second place at the Monte-Carlo Rally behind his teammate Sébastien Loeb. His WRC career ended with the Rally of Turkey in 2006 where he found Citroën and where he had to retire with a mechanical problem.