MCRAE’S RAC YEARS

1987 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Vauxhall Nova Sport): crashed A 19-year-old Mcrae makes his home WRC debut in a 1300cc Vauxhall Nova, but goes off the road before the finish. 1988 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Peugeot 205 GTI): holed radiator Mcrae’s first official drive comes as one of Peugeot’s Young Lions. A holed radiator in Penmachno marked the end of Colin’s second RAC outing. 1989 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth): crashed A full Group A Sierra was readied for 1989, but Mcrae went off the road early, returning only to land his Ford on top of teammate Franco Cunico, who had departed Kielder on the same corner minutes earlier. 1990 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4): 6th His first RAC finish and the big break. Plagued by problems – and with Ringer’s door kept shut by a bolt liberated from a farmer’s gate – Mcrae pressed on and scored his first ever fastest times at WRC level. The world took notice. Mcrae had delivered. 1991 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Subaru Legacy RS): crashed Colin arrived at the RAC on the back of his first British Championship title and led for the first time. Unfortunately, he rolled after failing to make a righthander over a crest in Grizedale. 1992 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Subaru Legacy RS): 6th Led the event again, but this time hopes were dashed by being forced into a ditch by a spectator driving down the middle of the road on the liaison section, damaging his car’s suspension and transmission. 1993 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza 555): holed radiator Led the event into Kielder, where a branch pierced the front of the Impreza, holed the radiator and cooked the flat-four in Kershope. 1994 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza 555): 1st Finally! The win Britain had been waiting for came to end an 18-year wait since Roger Clark’s second RAC success. 1995 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Subaru Impreza 555): 1st Mcrae overcame a puncture in Pundershaw and broken suspension in Newcastleton with staggering speed through Wales. Demolished Carlos Sainz on his way to a second home win and first world title. 1997 Colin Mcrae/nicky Grist (Subaru Impreza WRC97): 1st Overcame a sweary run through two fog-bound stages to take a third win on the bounce. 1998 Colin Mcrae/nicky Grist (Subaru Impreza WRC98): engine Ended his time with Subaru watching the Impreza go up in blue smoke in a Builth Wells cowshed. 1999 Colin Mcrae/nicky Grist (Ford Focuswrc): crashed Struggled to make much of an impact on the rally, then crashed out in the dark on the second run through Myherin. 2000 Colin Mcrae/nicky Grist (Ford Focus RS WRC): crashed Leading the event by 45 seconds, the good times were surely back for Mcrae and his legion of home fans. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be – he crashed out on the second run through Rheola. 2001 Colin Mcrae/nicky Grist (Ford Focus RS WRC01): crashed Led with a blinding turn of speed through the opening forest stage, but crashed heavily after mishearing a pace note and cutting an un-cuttable corner in Rhondda. 2002 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Ford Focus RS WRC02): 5th This was a difficult end to a troubled year – one in which he and Grist split – and his final season in the Ford Focus. An unusually subdued Mcrae finished fifth without scoring a single fastest time. 2003 Colin Mcrae/derek Ringer (Citroen Xsara WRC): 4th With an enforced retirement from the sport looming large, Colin’s final Rally GB as a fulltime driver was a world away from the swashbuckling stories he’d written a decade earlier. The car didn’t suit him and the time had come to say goodbye. 2005 Colin Mcrae/nicky Grist (Skoda Fabiawrc): 7th Two years after his GB finale, super-mac was back again. And also back on form. On a rally forever remembered for the tragic loss of Michael ‘Beef’ Park, Mcrae guided a Skoda to some impressive stage times, which kick-started talk of a longer-term return to the sport.