Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

[chippered]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

Shocked the hell out of me when I saw it on Yahoo this morning. Very tragic. RIP.

[bjf1377]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

I was very shocked when I saw the headline. I had just gotten back to seeing him race, thanks to the X-Games, and I was reminded of how great of a driver he was. Its tragic that the face of rally racing is now gone.

RIP

[TheTruth916]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

I just saw it on ESPN...this shocked me. RIP Man, You were a true legend of Rally Racing and an Icon of the sport. Thanks

[rockchisler]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

RIP.... very suprised that this is not on espn.com

[Keirik]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

yeah, you know, this was one of the first times i actually gasped when i heard it on the radio just in a state of shock and an actual tragedy.

It's so ironic that in a dangerous sport like rally racing he ends up fine but killed in another way. Very strange.

[mgoblue]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

yeah, you know, this was one of the first times i actually gasped when i heard it on the radio just in a state of shock and an actual tragedy.

It's so ironic that in a dangerous sport like rally racing he ends up fine but killed in another way. Very strange.

It's like Nascar was with private planes 10-20 years ago...though it wouldn't surprise me to hear that rally racing is much safer than helicopter flying.

Nonetheless, when I saw this thread my jaw dropped...RIP, seems like just yesterday I watched him fly around that X Games track.

[Bizzy Da Kid]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

RIP

[colkilla]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

heli's are just dangerous man. sad story, even moreso with the kid involved. RIP and prayers to friends and family and the entire rally scene...

[Scottdau]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

Did his 5 year old son die too? Man, that must be hard on a wife. You lose your husband and son. Wow, my prayers go to his family.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

RIP

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article2461339.ece

THE former rally driving champion Colin McRae was killed and his five year-old son feared dead in a helicopter crash yesterday afternoon. The aircraft came down in Jerviswood, Lanarkshire, half a mile from the family's home and burst into flames just after 4pm.

Jean-Eric Freudiger, McRae's agent, said the 39-year-old driver had been piloting the helicopter himself. Also on board were believed to be his son Johnny, another adult and another child. Police said there were no survivors.

McRae's wife Alison and their daughter Hollie, 9, were not on board, friends said.

McRae became Britain's first World Rally champion in 1995. He was one of the country's most successful sportsmen, achieving 25 wins in World Rally events and 42 podium places. He was a flamboyant driver, inspiring one the world's best-selling computer rally games.

The helicopter came down within half a mile of McRae's home, Jervis House, a 16th-century tower house, which has an adjacent helipad. The weather had been overcast, with a light breeze, but visibility was good.

Strathclyde police said the extent of the fire damage was making identification a problem.

McRae's wife, a childhood sweetheart and his former co-driver, was taken back to the house under police escort shortly after 6pm. She looked calm, but neighbours gathering outside the house looked shaken with grief.

McRae's friend the rally journalist Jeremy Hart who flew with the champion several times described him as a "very good, very measured pilot whose natural ability with machinery was second to none". "Colin regularly flew all over the UK and into Europe," said Hart. "He knew the terrain and conditions at Jerviswood very well. It was the place he flew into most regularly.

"As a driver Colin was misunderstood slightly as being reckless but everything you saw with him came from pure raw talent as opposed to being learnt. He was the Michael Schumacher of rally driving.

"It's so ironic that he should die in a helicopter crash when he had competed and had brushed with death so many times as a rally driver."

RIP Colin Mcrae

[bubba4]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

Obviously this man was a legend. His death will only transcend his legend status to worthy heights. Codemasters and Colin Mcrae has been a staple of my computer/console racing days for so long, I just hope that there is some way for Codemasters to keep his name in the fold for many years come. His greatness will surely live on regardless, but it'd be a nice gesture none the less. This is sad news indeed.

[Quint75]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

Tragic news. Made worse by the death of 2 children. RIP.

[ac11367]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

First it was Richard Burns, now Colin McRae. RIP. My heart goes out to his wife and family.

I hope Speed Channel would play some of CM's past racing footages to honor him.

Do you think Colin helped catapult Subaru into the mainstream? I remember 10-15 years ago Subaru was very niche, as reliable as their cars are.

[pk500]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

Do you think Colin helped catapult Subaru into the mainstream? I remember 10-15 years ago Subaru was very niche, as reliable as their cars are.

Absolutely no question. Fifteen years ago, Subaru was seen as a farmer's vehicle in the UK and a commune resident's vehicle in the U.S. But now it's seen as a high-performance compact car, and the team's success in the WRC, fueled by Colin's title, led the turnabout in perception.

I was floored when I learned of McRae's death Sunday. He drew me into the sport in the late 1990s with his games, and I've watched nearly every World Rally since 1999, all because of McRae's influence.

I loved the way the guy drove 10/10ths all the time. I think McRae's influence was summed up very well in eulogizing comments by former Ford Europe boss Martin Whitaker, who was influential in bringing McRae from Subaru to Ford for its revived WRC program in 1998:

"I think one of the things that occurred to me today was there was an expectancy every time Colin was in a rally stage - you knew that something was going to happen," Whitaker said. "He was either going to be blindingly fast or he was going to have a spectacular accident - what ever he did was flat-out. That expectancy as you stood there - whether it was in a forest in Wales or up in the Trossachs in Scotland, or in Argentina or New Zealand - was because you knew that there was something going to happen when Colin arrived on the scene."

Exactly. I felt the same way every time I watched McRae on the stages on SPEED or through the torrents. The guy was action, he was excitement.

And it's oh, so sad that the family lost 5-year-old Johnny, too. From all accounts, he was fascinated with cars and expressed a keen interest in continuing the family dynasty on the world's stages. Spare some thoughts for the other adult and Johnny's 6-year-old pal, who were killed, too.

Even though McRae's WRC career apparently was over, he was a car freak. He was building a low-cost rally concept car that could have helped spread the sport even further. His impact on rallying during his career was immense, and it appears he was preparing to make a similar impact on the sport after he hung up his helmet.

The rallying world is so much poorer today. Godspeed, Colin, Johnny, Ben and Graeme.

Take care,
PK

[jcollins28]

Re: Colin Mcrae killed in helicopter crash

Absolutely no question. Fifteen years ago, Subaru was seen as a farmer's vehicle in the UK and a commune resident's vehicle in the U.S. But now it's seen as a high-performance compact car, and the team's success in the WRC, fueled by Colin's title, led the turnabout in perception.

I was floored when I learned of McRae's death Sunday. He drew me into the sport in the late 1990s with his games, and I've watched nearly every World Rally since 1999, all because of McRae's influence.

I loved the way the guy drove 10/10ths all the time. I think McRae's influence was summed up very well in eulogizing comments by former Ford Europe boss Martin Whitaker, who was influential in bringing McRae from Subaru to Ford for its revived WRC program in 1998:

"I think one of the things that occurred to me today was there was an expectancy every time Colin was in a rally stage - you knew that something was going to happen," Whitaker said. "He was either going to be blindingly fast or he was going to have a spectacular accident - what ever he did was flat-out. That expectancy as you stood there - whether it was in a forest in Wales or up in the Trossachs in Scotland, or in Argentina or New Zealand - was because you knew that there was something going to happen when Colin arrived on the scene."

Exactly. I felt the same way every time I watched McRae on the stages on SPEED or through the torrents. The guy was action, he was excitement.

And it's oh, so sad that the family lost 5-year-old Johnny, too. From all accounts, he was fascinated with cars and expressed a keen interest in continuing the family dynasty on the world's stages. Spare some thoughts for the other adult and Johnny's 6-year-old pal, who were killed, too.

Even though McRae's WRC career apparently was over, he was a car freak. He was building a low-cost rally concept car that could have helped spread the sport even further. His impact on rallying during his career was immense, and it appears he was preparing to make a similar impact on the sport after he hung up his helmet.

The rallying world is so much poorer today. Godspeed, Colin, Johnny, Ben and Graeme.

Take care,
PK

First PK good to see you e-mail me at [email protected] lots to talk about.

Colin's death floored me just like the death of Al Holbert's did at the time. Their respective series were never the same with their tragic passing.