The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Rallying great Russell Brookes
Double British Rally champion Russell Brookes has died aged 74. The Worcestershire-born driver, who died on Wednesday, won two national titles in a career spanning three decades.
He raced for Ford, Lotus and Opel but was most famous for his fierce rivalry with Scotsman Jimmy McRae in the mid-1980s.
The pair were team-mates driving Opel Manta 400s at the peak of their careers.
Scotsman McRae, the father of late world champion Colin, beat Brookes to the British Championship in 1984 before the Englishman claimed the title the following year.
In 2008 Brookes took part in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally in Scotland in memory of Colin McRae, who had died the year before.
Driving a vintage Ford Escort, he was one of a number of former champions to take part in the event, which was a round of the Scottish Rally Championship.
Fans of the sport fondly recall Brookes’s long association with portable heating and air conditioning company Andrews-Sykes, which meant many of his cars were adorned with the slogan “Andrews Heat for Hire”.
His 1977 title was won driving a Ford Escort – having lost out to Ari Vatanen the year before.
During his nearly eight-year wait for a second championship triumph, he took a number of individual victories, including the Circuit of Ireland, Manx, Ulster, Welsh and Scottish rallies – which were some of the most prestigious of the time.
Brookes had earned a name for himself rallying in Minis in the 1960s before his move to Escorts and Mantas – but was given the chance to drive a host of other famous rally cars including Porsche 911s, Opel Kadetts, Lancia Delta Integrales and the Lotus Sunbeam.
Three-time British rally champion Mark Higgins paid tribute to the rallying great, tweeting: “Russell Brookes was a big part of my rallying growing up, with his battles with Jimmy and rallying on the Isle of Man when my parents rallied.
“He will be sadly missed by all that knew him.”