READY FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
The name McRae is enough to stir the soul of several generations of rally fans. From the multiple titlewinning exploits of Jimmy McRae in the British championship to the decorated careers of both of his sons Colin and Alister, who both hit the highs in their own way. And now the next hope is Max McRae, Alister’s teenaged son, who is looking to accelerate his own rallying dreams. McRae Jr has done much of his rallying in his native Australia where he has been a class winner in his Rally4 machines. But now he is beginning to spread his wings. There were some impressive stage times when he took part in the Nicky Grist Stages in July in a Ford Fiesta Rally4. But he has his sights set further up the sport’s many levels and the news that he is looking to contest the Junior WRC is exciting. He admits there is still budget to be found, but surely the lure of a McRae back at the top table of World rallying will help him to find the necessary backing he needs.
Elsewhere in this issue, we check out some proper rallying heritage with our lowdown from the Castle Combe Rallyday in Wiltshire last weekend. Paul Lawrence travelled to the venue to catch up with the stars and cars which thrilled the fans on the event’s return. Check out his report on page 18. There was another step back in time with the Goodwood Revival last weekend, and our lowdown on all the action is on page 16.
The subject of our readers’ question-and-answer session is the newly crowned Scottish Rally champion David Bogie, a man who has been around the rallying block. He has the distinction of being both the British and Scottish title winner in 2011, a first for the sport, and has managed a successful business career alongside his competition outings. Bogie is one of the most humble men in rallying as you can read from the interview, which starts on page 20.
Paul Lawrence also gives us an insight into how some of the smaller-engined cars in the British Hillclimb Championship are providing a bang-for-buck that goes well above their limitedcapacity motors. His special insight begins on page 27.
We have all the national racing and rallying reports from the weekend just gone too. And there is another chance for you to make your voice heard in our exclusive Motul UK-backed Motorsport News poll. We are looking to discover your mostmissed Formula 1 circuits, and you can find out how to make your opinion known on page 15. We need you.