The 2005 World Rally Championship season was the 33rd season in the FIA World Rally Championship. The season began on January 21 with the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo and ended on November 13 with the Telstra Rally Australia.

In the drivers' world championship, Citroën Total's Sébastien Loeb successfully defended his title, finishing a record 56 points ahead of Subaru's Petter Solberg and Peugeot's Marcus Grönholm. Loeb also set several other records during the season. He won ten world rallies, beating the previous record of six held by him (2004) and Didier Auriol (1992). He also took six consecutive wins, beating Timo Salonen's 20-year-old record of four. Peugeot's Markko Märtin retired after his co-driver Michael Park was fatally injured in their crash at the Wales Rally GB.

Citroën took the manufacturers' title for the third year in a row, well ahead of Subaru and Ford. PSA Peugeot Citroën still went ahead with their plan to withdraw both Citroën and Peugeot from the series after the season. More blows to manufacturer involvement in the series followed when Mitsubishi and Škoda announced the withdrawal of their factory teams. However, the 2006 season would see Citroën and Škoda continue as the semi-works teams Kronos Citroën and Red Bull Škoda Team, respectively.

Michael Park[link]

On 18 September 2005 Michael "Beef" Park lost his life in a tragic accident. One of the top co-drivers of his generation, Park died as a result of injuries sustained in an accident on the final leg of Wales Rally Great Britain when his Peugeot 307 WRC left the road and struck a tree.

• 

  This is the memorial for Michael Park who lost his life.

Calendar[link]

Round	Dates	Race
1	21–23 January	Monte Carlo Rally
2	11–13 February	Swedish Rally
3	11–13 March	Rally Mexico
4	7–10 April	Rally New Zealand
5	28 April-1 May	Rally d'Italia Sardegna
6	13–15 May	Cyprus Rally
7	3–5 June	Rally of Turkey
8	23–26 June	Acropolis Rally
9	14–17 July	Rally Argentina
10	4–7 August	Rally Finland
11	26–28 August	Rallye Deutschland
12	15–18 September	Wales Rally GB
13	29 September-2 October	Rally Japan
14	21–23 October	Tour de Corse
15	27–30 October	Rally Catalunya
16	20–23 November	Rally Australia

Teams and drivers[link]

World Rally Championship entries[link]

Manufacturer teams
Team	Constructor	Car	Tyre	No	Drivers	Rounds
Citroën Total	Citroën	Xsara WRC	M	1	Sébastien Loeb	All
				2	François Duval	1–6, 9–16
					Carlos Sainz	7–8
BP Ford World Rally Team	Ford	Focus RS WRC 04/06	M	3	Toni Gardemeister	All
				4	Roman Kresta	1, 4–9, 11–16
					Henning Solberg	2
					Daniel Solà	3
					Mikko Hirvonen	10
				14	Roman Kresta	2–3, 10
					Henning Solberg	5–8, 10, 12
					Daniel Solà	11, 13–16
				15	Antony Warmbold	All
					Luís Pérez Companc	4, 9
Subaru World Rally Team	Subaru	Impreza WRC 2004/5	P	5	Petter Solberg	All
				6	Stéphane Sarrazin	1–2, 11, 14–15
					Chris Atkinson	3–10, 12–13, 16
				16		2, 11, 14–15
					Stéphane Sarrazin	5, 8, 12
Marlboro Peugeot Total	Peugeot	307 WRC	P	7	Marcus Grönholm	All
				8	Markko Märtin	1–12
					Daniel Carlsson	13, 16
					Nicolas Bernardi	14–15
				19	Daniel Carlsson	2
				25	Sebastian Lindholm	10
Mitsubishi Motors	Mitsubishi	Lancer WRC 05	P	9	Harri Rovanperä	All
				10	Gilles Panizzi	1, 3, 6, 13–14
					Gianluigi Galli	2, 4–5, 7–12, 15–16
				18		13–14
Škoda Motorsport	Škoda	Fabia WRC	M	11	Armin Schwarz	1, 3–16
					Mattias Ekström	2
				12	Alexandre Bengué	1, 11, 14–15
					Janne Tuohino	2, 4–8
					Jani Paasonen	3, 9–10
					Colin McRae	12, 16
					Mikko Hirvonen	13
				17	Janne Tuohino	10
					Jan Kopecký	11, 14–15
				18	Jani Paasonen	2, 8
Major entries not registered as manufacturers
OMV World Rally Team	Citroën	Xsara WRC	M	16	Manfred Stohl	1, 4–6, 8–12, 16
				17	Xavier Pons	8–12, 14–16
				21	Juuso Pykälistö	5
Stobart VK Ford Rally Team	Ford	Focus RS WRC 04	M	17	Mark Higgins	5, 8, 12
		Focus RS WRC 02		19	Matthew Wilson	12
Mikko Hirvonen	Ford	Focus RS WRC 03	M	18	Mikko Hirvonen	2, 5, 8, 15
Bozian Racing	Peugeot	206 WRC	M P	18	Daniel Carlsson	6, 9
				19	Marcos Ligato	9
				22	Nicolas Bernardi	11–12
				23	Xavier Pons	1, 3, 5
				61	Didier Auriol	1
					Ricardo Triviño	3, 9, 15
Equipe de France FFSA	Škoda	Fabia WRC	M	20	Nicolas Vouilloz	14–15

JWRC Entries[link]

No	Driver	Co-driver	Car	Rounds
31	Per-Gunnar Andersson	Jonas Andersson	Suzuki Ignis S1600	1, 3, 5, 8
			Suzuki Swift S1600	10–11, 15
32	Guy Wilks	Phil Pugh	Suzuki Ignis S1600	1, 3, 5, 8
			Suzuki Swift S1600	10–11, 15
33	Kosti Katajamäki	Timo Alanne	Suzuki Ignis S1600	1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15
34	Mirco Baldacci	Giovanni Bernacchini	Fiat Punto S1600	1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15
35	Kris Meeke	Chris Patterson	Citroën C2 S1600	1, 5, 8
		Glenn Patterson		10–11, 14–15
36	Urmo Aava	Kuldar Sikk	Suzuki Ignis S1600	1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15
37	Alan Scorcioni	Silvio Stefanelli	Suzuki Ignis S1600	1, 5, 8, 14
			Fiat Punto S1600	10
		Toni Moreno		11
		Domenico Scorcioni	Suzuki Ignis S1600	15
38	Luca Betti	Giovanni Agnese	Renault Clio S1600	1, 5, 8, 11, 14–15
		Piercarlo Capalongo		10
39	Luca Cecchettini	Massimo Daddoveri	Renault Clio S1600	1
			Fiat Punto S1600	3, 5, 8, 11
		Antonio Morassi		14–15
40	Conrad Rautenbach	Carl Williamson	Citroën Saxo S1600	3
			Citroën C2 S1600	5, 8, 10–11, 14–15
41	Dani Sordo	Marc Martí	Citroën C2 S1600	1, 5, 10–11, 14–15
		Oriol Julia Pascual		8
42	Pavel Valoušek	Pierangelo Scalvini	Suzuki Ignis S1600	1, 3, 5, 10–11
		Petr Starý		14–15
43	Martin Prokop	Petr Gross	Suzuki Ignis S1600	1, 5, 8, 10–11, 14–15

Results and standings[link]

Drivers' championship[link]

Pos Driver MON SWE MEX NZL ITA CYP TUR GRC ARG FIN GER GBR JPN FRA ESP AUS  Pts  1 Sébastien Loeb 1 Ret 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 1 1 Ret 127 2 Petter Solberg Ret 1 1 3 2 Ret 2 9 3 4 7 1 Ret 3 13 Ret 71 3 Marcus Grönholm 5 Ret 2 2 3 Ret 3 4 2 1 3 Ret 1 Ret Ret Ret 71 4 Toni Gardemeister 2 3 6 6 5 5 6 2 4 6 17 DSQ 6 2 14 Ret 58 5 Markko Märtin 4 2 3 5 4 3 5 8 6 3 4 Ret 53 6 François Duval Ret 12 Ret 4 11 Ret 7 8 2 2 4 Ret 2 1 47 7 Harri Rovanperä 7 4 5 Ret Ret 7 10 6 5 7 10 4 5 10 10 2 39 8 Roman Kresta 8 8 Ret DNS 6 6 7 Ret 11 23 6 6 7 5 5 6 29 9 Manfred Stohl 6 9 9 2 20 8 Ret Ret 5 3 22 10 Mikko Hirvonen Ret Ret 5 5 Ret 3 14 11 Gianluigi Galli 7 8 Ret 8 7 Ret Ret 5 13 Ret 9 Ret 5 14 12 Chris Atkinson 19 Ret 7 18 10 24 Ret 9 Ret 11 38 3 Ret 9 4 13 13 Carlos Sainz 4 3 11 14 Henning Solberg 5 15 4 11 Ret 9 10 9 15 Gilles Panizzi 3 8 11 11 Ret 7 16 Xavier Pons Ret 38 10 13 Ret 34 17 10 10 12 9 11 7 4 Ret 7 17 Stéphane Sarrazin 14 13 12 13 8 Ret 4 Ret 6 18 Antony Warmbold 10 11 7 11 7 Ret 9 Ret 12 Ret DNS 12 9 13 7 Ret 6 19 Daniel Carlsson 6 Ret 8 Ret 14 15 DNS 8 Ret 5 20 Nicolas Bernardi Ret Ret 8 6 4 21 Alexandre Bengué 9 Ret 6 Ret 3 22 Colin McRae 7 Ret 2 23 Daniel Solà Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 7 2 24 Juuso Pykälistö DNS 8 DNS 1 25 Mark Higgins Ret Ret 10 Ret 44 Ret DSQ DNS 8 10 1 26 Jan Kopecký 37 Ret 12 8 1 27 Armin Schwarz Ret 9 10 Ret 13 Ret 18 16 11 Ret 14 10 Ret 11 8 1 Pos Driver MON SWE MEX NZL ITA CYP TUR GRC ARG FIN GER GBR JPN FRA ESP AUS  Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Injured or ill (Inj) Excluded (EX) Suspended (SUS) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

Manufacturers' championship[link]

Pos	Team	Event																Total points
		MON	SWE	MEX	NZL	ITA	CYP	TUR	GRC	ARG	FIN	GER	GBR	JPN	FRA	ESP	AUS
1	Citroën	10	1	5	15	12	10	15	16	12	9	18	14	13	10	18	10	188
2	Peugeot	9	8	14	12	11	8	10	7	11	16	11	0	11	2	5	0	135
3	Ford	10	10	3	3	7	11	5	8	5	7	3	4	5	12	7	4	104
4	Subaru	0	10	10	8	8	2	8	1	7	5	3	10	6	11	2	6	97
5	Mitsubishi	9	8	6	1	0	5	1	7	4	2	4	7	4	1	4	13	76
6	Škoda	1	2	1	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	3	3	3	21

JWRC Drivers' championship[link]

Pos Driver MON MEX ITA GRC FIN GER FRA ESP  Pts  1 Dani Sordo 4 1 Ret 1 1 2 1 53 2 Guy Wilks 7 1 6 2 3 3 Ret 35 3 Kris Meeke 1 3 6 7 2 8 7 32 4 Urmo Aava Ret 2 3 2 Ret 4 4 32 5 Kosti Katajamäki 2 Ret 4 Ret 5 3 2 31 6 Per-Gunnar Andersson 6 2 5 1 Ret 4 Ret 30 7 Mirco Baldacci 10 Ret 5 5 7 1 3 26 8 Luca Betti 5 4 Ret 4 6 Ret Ret 17 9 Martin Prokop 9 7 7 6 Ret 7 5 13 10 Luca Cecchettini Ret 3 Ret Ret 9 6 8 10 11 Pavel Valoušek 8 4 9 Ret 8 Ret 6 10 12 Conrad Rautenbach Ret 8 8 8 Ret 5 Ret 7 13 Alan Scorcioni 3 Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 Pos Driver MON MEX ITA GRC FIN GER FRA ESP  Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Purple Did not finish (Ret) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Injured or ill (Inj) Excluded (EX) Suspended (SUS) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

Events[link]

Round	Rally name	Podium drivers (Finishing time)	Podium cars
1	/ 73ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo (21–23 January) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (4h:13m:05.6s) Toni Gardemeister (4h:16m:03.9s) Gilles Panizzi (4h:16m:45.7s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Ford Focus WRC Mitsubishi Lancer WRC
2	54th Uddeholm Swedish Rally (11–13 February) — Results and report	Petter Solberg (3h:00m:52.1s) Markko Märtin (3h:03m:03.2s) Toni Gardemeister (3h:04m:06.8s)	Subaru Impreza WRC Peugeot 307 WRC Ford Focus WRC
3	19º Corona Rally México (11–13 March) — Results and report	Petter Solberg (3h:41m:06.2s) Marcus Grönholm (3h:41m:40.7s) Markko Märtin (3h:42m:44.5s)	Subaru Impreza WRC Peugeot 307 WRC Peugeot 307 WRC
4	35th Propecia Rally New Zealand (8–10 April) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (3h:34m:51.6s) Marcus Grönholm (3h:35m:41.4s) Petter Solberg (3h:36m:00.3s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Peugeot 307 WRC Subaru Impreza WRC
5	2º Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia (29 April–1 May) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (4h:06m:33.7s) Petter Solberg (4h:07m:33.3s) Marcus Grönholm (4h:09m:41.0s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Subaru Impreza WRC Peugeot 307 WRC
6	33rd Cyprus Rally (13–15 May) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (5h:02m:29.4s) Manfred Stohl (5h:06m:38.9s) Markko Märtin (5h:07m:11.3s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Citroën Xsara WRC Peugeot 307 WRC
7	6th Rally of Turkey (2–5 June) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (4h:21m:48.0s) Petter Solberg (4h:22m:47.6s) Marcus Grönholm (4h:23m:03.3s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Subaru Impreza WRC Peugeot 307 WRC
8	52nd Acropolis Rally (23–26 June) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (4h:12m:53.7s) Toni Gardemeister (4h:14m:29.9s) Carlos Sainz (4h:15m:04.8s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Ford Focus WRC Citroën Xsara WRC
9	25º Rally Argentina (14–17 July) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (3h:55m:36.5s) Marcus Grönholm (3h:56m:02.5s) Petter Solberg (3h:56m:41.7s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Peugeot 307 WRC Subaru Impreza WRC
10	55th Neste Rally Finland (4–7 August) — Results and report	Marcus Grönholm (2h:54m:11.0s) Sébastien Loeb (2h:55m:17.7s) Markko Märtin (2h:55m:46.6s)	Peugeot 307 WRC Citroën Xsara WRC Peugeot 307 WRC
11	24. OMV ADAC Rallye Deutschland (25–27 August) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (3h:27m:13.2s) François Duval (3h:27m:50.6s) Marcus Grönholm (3h:29m:18.0s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Citroën Xsara WRC Peugeot 307 WRC
12	61st Wales Rally of Great Britain (16–18 September) — Results and report	Petter Solberg (2h:45m:57.8s) François Duval (2h:47m:15.2s) Sébastien Loeb (2h:47m:15.7s)	Subaru Impreza WRC Citroën Xsara WRC Citroën Xsara WRC
13	2nd Rally Japan (30 September–2 October) — Results and report	Marcus Grönholm (3h:23m:32.0s) Sébastien Loeb (3h:26m:54.1s)[1] Chris Atkinson (3h:28m:12.0s)	Peugeot 307 WRC Citroën Xsara WRC Subaru Impreza WRC
14	49ème Tour de Corse - Rallye de France (21–23 October) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (3h:35m:46.7s) Toni Gardemeister (3h:37m:38.4s) Petter Solberg (3h:38m:28.7s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Ford Focus WRC Subaru Impreza WRC
15	41º Rally RACC Catalunya - Costa Daurada (28–30 October) — Results and report	Sébastien Loeb (3h:31m:07.0s) François Duval (3h:32m:28.9s) Mikko Hirvonen (3h:33m:53.7s)	Citroën Xsara WRC[2] Citroën Xsara WRC Ford Focus WRC
16	18th Telstra Rally Australia (10–13 November) — Results and report	François Duval (3h:19m:55.0s) Harri Rovanperä (3h:20m:47.9s) Manfred Stohl (3h:21m:28.0s)	Citroën Xsara WRC Mitsubishi Lancer WRC Citroën Xsara WRC

Notes[link]

1. ^ Sébastien Loeb secured the drivers' championship title in Japan.
2. ^ Citroën secured the manufacturers' championship in Spain.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 2005 in World Rally Championship

• 2005 season at RallyBase
• 2005 season at World Rally Archive

Colin McRae

Colin McRae at the X Games XIII in 2007
Personal information
Nationality	Scottish
Born	(1968-08-05)5 August 1968
Died	15 September 2007(2007-09-15) (aged 39)
World Rally Championship record
Active years	1987–2003, 2005–2006[1]
Teams	Subaru, Citroën, Ford, Škoda
Rallies	146
Championships	1 (1995)
Rally wins	25
Podiums	42
Stage wins	477
Total points	626
First rally	1987 Swedish Rally
First win	1993 Rally New Zealand
Last win	2002 Safari Rally
Last rally	2006 Rally of Turkey

Colin Steele McRae, MBE (5 August 1968 – 15 September 2007) was a Scottish rally driver born in Lanark.

The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and brother of rally driver Alister McRae, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the World Rally Championship Drivers' title. He still holds that record.

McRae's outstanding performance on the Subaru World Rally Team enabled the team to win the World Rally Championship Constructors' title three times in succession in 1995, 1996 and 1997. After a four-year spell with the Ford Motor Co. team, which saw McRae win nine events, he moved to Citroën World Rally Team in 2003 where, despite not winning an event, he helped them win the first of their three consecutive manufacturers' titles. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to motorsport in 1996.^[2]

McRae died in 2007 when the helicopter he was piloting crashed near his home. The accident also claimed the lives of his son and two family friends. In November 2008 he was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal and early life[link]

McRae was married to Alison,^[3] and had two children, Hollie and Johnny.^[4] McRae moved to the principality of Monaco in 1995, partly through his friendship with David Coulthard.^[5] However, as his young family grew up, he spent more time back at his home in Lanarkshire — accepting the higher tax liability of living in Scotland.^[6] The couple bought the 17th century Jerviswood House.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Colin McRae began his competitive career in motorsport riding trial bikes at an early age, despite being more interested in four wheeled machines rather than two wheel bikes.^[7] At the age of sixteen, through the Coltness Car Club, McRae discovered autotesting, he soon traded his bike for a Mini Cooper and started competing.^[7] A year later, he began to negotiate with another club member to use his Hillman Avenger for the Kames^{[disambiguation needed ]} Stages, a single-staged rally venue not far from McRae's home. McRae finished the event fourteenth; first in his class although he had run most of the event in a higher position.^[7]

In 1986, driving a Talbot Sunbeam, McRae entered the Scottish Rally Championship and soon made a name for himself with his speed and exciting style of driving. His driving style drew many comparisons to Finnish ex-World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, who McRae had always idolised. In 1988 he performed a giant-killing act when he took the Scottish Rally Championship series crown in a humble Vauxhall Nova. Craving more power, his next car was a Ford Sierra XR 4x4.

His first WRC event was the 1987 Swedish Rally behind the wheel of his Nova, and again two years later, driving the Sierra and finishing 15th overall. Later that year, he finished 5th overall at Rally New Zealand in a rear wheel drive Sierra Cosworth. By 1990 McRae was driving a Sierra Cosworth 4x4 and achieved sixth place in that year's RAC Rally, despite several accidents. 1991 saw McRae turn professional as he was signed by Prodrive boss David Richards to his Subaru team in the British Rally Championship for an annual wage of approximately £10,000.^[8] McRae was British Rally Champion in both 1991 and 1992, soon graduating to the Subaru factory team at World Rally Championship level.^[9] 1992 also saw Colin McRae make his début in the British Touring Car Championship, with a one-off appearance for the Prodrive-run BMW factory team at the Knockhill round. In the second of the two races of the event, McRae collided with Matt Neal. Race officials found McRae to have caused an avoidable collision and subsequently disqualified him.^[10]

World Rally Championship[link]

1993–1998: Subaru[link]

One of the Subaru Impreza rally cars that McRae drove during the 1996 World Rally Championship season.

On his promotion for 1993, McRae initially drove the Prodrive-built Group A Subaru Legacy alongside Finns Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola and Markku Alén. McRae then won his first WRC rally in the car at that year's Rally New Zealand. It was also the first rally win for the newly formed Subaru World Rally Team, shortly before the Legacy was due to be pensioned off in favour of the new Subaru Impreza 555. Such were the rising fortunes of his young Subaru factory team as they competed against the frontrunning TTE ran Toyotas, aided by the latter team's exclusion from the championship after the 1995 Rally Catalunya where it was discovered that the Japanese team had been using illegal turbochargers, it took only until 1995 for McRae to win the drivers title, which he secured with victory in a straight contest with his double champion team-mate, Carlos Sainz, on the season-ending Rally of Great Britain. Although still a winner with the outfit in individual rallies in succeeding years, including, increasingly, more specialised events such as the Acropolis Rally, Safari Rally and the Tour de Corse, McRae could not better second place in the standings in either 1996 or 1997, on both occasions behind Finland and Mitsubishi Ralliart's Tommi Mäkinen. He helped Subaru complete their run of three consecutive manufacturers' titles during this time. In what would turn out to be his final season with the team, in 1998 he won three more rallies and placed third in the standings, as well as winning the Race of Champions in Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands.

1999–2002: Ford[link]

McRae with a Ford Focus WRC at the 2001 Rally Finland.

After several years of varying success, McRae switched to the M-Sport-run Ford factory team for 1999, driving the new Ford Focus rally car. The deal saw McRae earning six million pounds over two years, which at the time made him the highest earning rally driver in history.^[11] This move was immediately rewarded with two consecutive wins at the Safari Rally and Rally Portugal. A number of shunts and reliability issues for the new car for much of the rest of that season, however, resulted in only sixth place in the championship standings overall. Moreover, a rare personal pointless run had begun for McRae that year which was only to be halted with a podium on the following February's Swedish Rally, the beginning of a recovery which saw McRae victorious in on the asphalt turns of Catalunya and the gravel of Greece, and post 4th in the 2000 overall standings. Midway through the 2000 season, the lacking reliability of the Focus had led to McRae threatening to leave the team if the problems continued.^[12] The upturn towards the end of the season resulted in him deciding to renew his contract with Ford for a further two years.^[13] McRae's intermittent success with Ford continued into 2001, where after failing to score in any of the first four rounds, including having momentarily led defending winner Tommi Makinen on the stages of the season opening Monte Carlo Rally prior to being forced into retirement, he then went on to score three consecutive victories in Argentina, Cyprus and Greece to tie with Mäkinen at the top of the points table. However, having again led the championship outright entering the final round in Great Britain, McRae once more missed out on a possible second title, crashing out and finishing second in the drivers championship, two points behind Subaru's Richard Burns.

With victory in the Safari Rally in 2002, McRae made the record books as the driver with most event wins in the World Rally Championship. His record has since been broken by Carlos Sainz, Sébastien Loeb and Marcus Grönholm. McRae's contract with Ford came to an end following the 2002 season, and after reportedly asking for wages of five million pounds a year, Ford decided against renewing the contract, reluctant to commit such a high amount of their budget to a drivers salary. The two parties split on amicable terms, with Ford's European director of motorsport Martin Whitaker stating "On behalf of all of us at Ford Motor Company I would like to publicly thank Colin and Nicky for their efforts during the past four years with the Ford team… I wish them both well in the future."^[14] McRae said of his time with Ford "It's been a very successful four years, we've achieved a lot of very good results and I'm quite happy that myself and Ford have had a very successful partnership."^[15]

2003: Citroën[link]

For 2003, McRae signed for Citroën, a team of winning pedigree due to its successes of the previous year with young Frenchman Sébastien Loeb but otherwise undertaking its first complete campaign at World Rally Championship level. McRae's second place finish on his début in Monte Carlo alongside Loeb and Carlos Sainz whom, aboard the Xsara WRC, helped complete a 1-2-3 finish, transpired to be the finest result he would achieve for the team, for the season was to end with seventh in the drivers' championship, with no victories. Rule changes that were to be brought in for the 2004 season changed the previous practice of having three nominated points-scorers within a team to two. With Loeb partway through a multiple year contract, this meant the Citroën factory team, under Guy Frequelin's leadership, were forced to choose between dropping McRae or Sainz. With Sainz being the more successful of the two during the 2003 season, it was McRae who had to look elsewhere for 2004.^[16] David Richards, McRae's former boss at Subaru, who had by now taken over WRC's commercial rights holders ISC and worried that the loss of a character like McRae would damage his ability to market the sport, set about trying to help McRae find a drive for 2004.^[17] McRae was unable to find a team, and for the first time in over ten years he would not be competing in the World Rally Championship.

Later career[link]

McRae driving a Škoda Fabia WRC on the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff super special stage of the 2005 Rally GB.

As the only other potential alternative suitors, Subaru instead eventually chose Mikko Hirvonen to partner Petter Solberg, McRae found himself without a drive for the 2004 season. He instead pursued other interests, including competing in the Dakar Rally and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (see below).

In 2004 and 2005 McRae represented Great Britain in the Race of Champions alongside Formula One driver and fellow Scot, David Coulthard. For the 2006 event England and Scotland entered separate teams with McRae and Coulthard re-uniting to represent Scotland.

McRae then returned to the series for one off drives for Skoda on the 2005 Rally GB and Rally Australia, respectively finishing seventh and retiring due to a clutch problem on the final leg of the rally, the latter dashing hopes for what may otherwise have been only the team's second ever podium place after the 2001 Safari Rally.

On 5 August 2006, McRae competed for Subaru in the first live televised American rally in Los Angeles as part of the X-Games. McRae rolled the car on the penultimate corner after landing awkwardly from a jump, which damaged the front bumper and left front tyre. Despite this, McRae kept the car running and continued on to the finish, his time only 0.13 seconds slower than eventual winner Travis Pastrana. McRae was, though, to have one more opportunity at world championship level: he was unexpectedly entered for his final rally by semi-works Kronos Citroën at Rally Turkey in September, where he replaced Sébastien Loeb while the Frenchman recovered from an injury he sustained in a cycling accident immediately prior to the event.^[18] A final-stage alternator problem consigned him and returning co-driver Nicky Grist, to a final placing outside the top ten.

The Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello driven by McRae at the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans

McRae's competitive spirit also led him to compete in racing series other than the WRC. In September 2002 he tried his hand at oval racing when he took part in the Ascar (UK version of NASCAR) race at the Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northamptonshire; eventually finishing in sixth place.

McRae rejoined Prodrive for the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans where he took third place in the GTS class, and ninth position overall in a Ferrari 550-GTS Maranello partnering Darren Turner and Rickard Rydell. Fellow countryman, and Le Mans winner Allan McNish commented that "Colin has adapted far better than people expected" to endurance sportscar racing.^[19]

McRae, made his debut on the gruelling Dakar Rally Raid with Nissan in January 2004, and impressed the team by scoring two stage wins on his way to a memorable finish on the gruelling Sahara event. He returned to the Dakar in 2005 and was fastest on two of the first three stages in Morocco, before crashing out of the rally towards the end of stage six.

In August 2007, McRae claimed to still be working on finding a seat for the 2008 WRC season, stating that "if it doesn't happen next year, then I won't (return) because you can only be out of something at that level for so long."^[20]

Death[link]

McRae died on 15 September 2007 when his helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350,^[21] crashed 1 mile north of Lanark, Scotland, close to the McRae family home.^[22] McRae was piloting the helicopter (with an expired license) at the time of the crash.^[23][24] McRae's five-year-old son Johnny, and two family friends, Graeme Duncan and Johnny's six-year-old friend Ben Porcelli, also died in the crash.^[25][26] McRae's previously active website, ColinMcRae.com, was later replaced with a memorial screen stating a few details about the crash, and then with a short statement released on behalf of McRae's father, Jimmy,^[27] and later a book of condolences.^[27]

Funeral and celebration services[link]

The funeral for Colin and Johnny took place on 26 September at Daldowie Crematorium near Glasgow, conducted by the Rev Tom Houston, who had married the McRaes, and the Rev Steven Reid, chaplain at Johnny's school. An address was given by Robbie Head, a former rally driver and commentator who was a close friend of McRae's, with the Rev Houston giving the benediction. McRae's niece and nephews performed the tune Highland Cathedral, a popular funeral song. Also, the song "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding, a favourite song of McRae's, was played when the family entered the chapel; and The Proclaimers' song "I'm on My Way" was played when they left. Colin and Johnny McRae were cremated in the same coffin. Among the attendees at the funeral were fellow Scottish racing drivers Jackie Stewart and Dario Franchitti.^[28]

A "Celebration of Life" service took place at St Nicholas Church in Lanark on Sunday 30 September at 4 pm. Images from McRae's career and personal life were displayed on large video screens outside the church. Around 700 mourners filled the church, with crowds of up to 15,000 outside. Shortly before 4pm, a lone bagpiper played "Flower of Scotland" as the family arrived at the church. The service was conducted by the Rev Alison Meikle, who said "Two weeks ago Lanark was struck by silence. A terrible silence bought at an enormous price. However, in our tears love is stronger than death." Later, the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton song "Islands in the Stream", a favourite of Johnny's, was played. Friends of the pair shared poems and anecdotes from the McRaes' lives. After the service, Colin McRae's widow, brother and father bowed and applauded the crowds who had gathered outside to pay tribute to the McRaes.^[29]

Reaction[link]

McRae tribute during the 2007 Race of Champions.

McRae's death was met by much grief from former colleagues, rivals and fans alike. Formula One driver David Coulthard, a good friend of McRae, who was due to represent Scotland along with him in the Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium on 16 December,^[30] described him as "an understated yet fantastically talented individual", he also announced that he would race the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix with a helmet paint design similar to that of McRae's as a tribute.^[31] During the finale of the 2007 Scottish Rally Championship, the "Colin McRae Forest Stages" held in Perth in September 2007,^[32] there was no number 1 car as McRae had been due to drive the course car on the event. Instead, his car was parked at the starting point of the rally, where fans were able to sign a book of condolences.^[33]

Following his win at the Brands Hatch meeting of the 2007 World Touring Car Championship season, Andy Priaulx dedicated it to McRae, commenting that his death "shows how fragile life can be".^[34] McRae's former rival, four-time World Rally Champion Tommi Mäkinen commented the helicopter accident as terrifying news, and described McRae as "a pleasant fellow and a tough rival".^[35] Valentino Rossi, who was taught the basics of driving a rally car by McRae, said he was shocked and saddened by the sudden departure of the former World Rally Champion. Valentino dedicated his win at Estoril MotoGp in 2007 to Colin McRae saying to the media "I want to dedicate this to Colin McRae. He was one of my big idols when I was very young and it's because of him I have a big passion for rally".^[36]

As a mark of respect for McRae, the Swedish Rally organisers set up an award for the longest jump over a crest on the Vargåsen stage of the rally. The inaugural winner of the award, named Colin's Crest, was Ford's United Arab Emirates driver Khalid al-Qassimi who recorded a distance of 30 m.^[37]

McRae's father, Jimmy, driving a Porsche 911 at the 2008 Colin McRae Forest Stages.

On 27 September 2008 the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally took place in Perth, Scotland. An enhanced entry list of several former big name rally drivers took part in memory of Colin.^[38] The impressive entry list included ex-World Championship drivers Hannu Mikkola, Ari Vatanen (partnered by his 1981 WRC winning co-driver David Richards), Björn Waldegård, Stig Blomqvist, Malcolm Wilson, Russell Brookes, Jimmy McRae, Andrew Cowan and Louise Aitken-Walker, many competing in their original cars. A handful of current WRC drivers also took part including Matthew Wilson, Kris Meeke and Travis Pastrana. The event was deemed a great success, attracting record spectator numbers to the Perthshire forests. Outright winner was Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Rally Team driver Matthew Wilson in a Ford Focus WRC. Fittingly, Colin's brother Alister McRae won the classic category.

In video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2 there is a race series named "Colin McRae Challenge" that is dedicated to him. Winning the race unlocks a video that is a tribute to him.

Investigation[link]

After the crash, an investigative team from the UK Department for Transport Air Accidents Investigation Branch attended the scene in co-operation with Strathclyde Police. The wreckage of the helicopter was removed to Farnborough for further forensic investigation. Pilots operate under strict regulations, and are expected in the case of helicopters under CAA rules to undertake a competency test every year, and to renew their licenses every five years — not to do so is illegal. It later emerged that McRae had not undertaken a competency check as required in March 2006, and that effectively his license had expired in February 2005. A CAA spokesman commented "The investigators must determine why he (McRae) hasn't kept up to date with his documentation. There is no suggestion that Mr McRae was not a competent pilot."^[39]

A report into the accident was published on 12 February 2009. In it, the AAIB did not reach a definite conclusion as to the cause of the accident, stating instead that "the helicopter crashed in a wooded valley while manoeuvering at high speed and low height. It was intact prior to impact, and the available evidence indicated that the engine was delivering power. The cause of the accident was not positively determined. Although no technical reason was found to explain the accident, a technical fault could not be ruled out entirely. However, it is more likely that the pilot attempted a turning manoeuvre at low height, during which the helicopter deviated from his intended flight path; whether due to the pilot encountering handling difficulties, misjudgement, spatial disorientation, distraction or a combination of such events. There were indications that the pilot had started a recovery but, with insufficient height in which to complete it, the helicopter struck trees in the valley and crashed, killing all four occupants."^[40]

A Fatal Accident Inquiry into the incident concluded, on 6 September 2011, that McRae was at fault for the avoidable helicopter crash that led to his death and the death of his passengers.^[41] Sheriff Nikola Stewart stated, after the 16-day inquiry, that McRae had been engaged in "unnecessary and unsafe" low-level flying at the time of the crash.^[42][43]

Colin McRae Rally[link]

Codemasters released the first Colin McRae Rally video game in 1998. Version 2, known as Colin McRae 2.0, was released in the year 2000, for Sony's PlayStation and for the PC; it was also ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002. A third version found a wide audience on the PC and Xbox. Versions 04 and 2005 arrived in 2004 on all major platforms. 2005 was also remade for Sony's PSP and Nokia's N-Gage. Colin McRae: Dirt was the title for the next installment of the series, which launched in 2007 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 edition was released in the UK on 14 September, the day before McRae's death.^[44] A special edition for mobile phones will also be available from Codemasters Mobile. Colin McRae: Dirt 2 was released on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on 11 September 2009, the PC version was released on 8 December 2009. Colin McRae: Dirt 3 was released in Europe and North America on the 24 May 2011, and two days later in Australia for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Colin McRae R4[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

A Colin McRae R4 on display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Colin McRae chose the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed to unveil the McRae R4, which had been conceived at the beginning of 2005. The intention was to make a cheaper alternative to WRCs (World Rally Cars) with significantly lower running costs. The McRae R4 was designed for use in rallying, rally cross, circuit racing and ice racing events, with the possibility of a one-make race series.

Designed by Colin McRae and Dave Plant and built by DJM Race Preparation, the McRae R4's chassis is based on a steel safety cage with carbon panelling front and rear, and a steel-covered cockpit area. Suspension consists of twin wishbones with Proflex dampers. The body styling has been done by Keith Burden and Tom Webster. It appears that some components of the vehicle have been taken from existing production cars, the doorline in particular appears very close to that of the Ford Ka.

The engine is a naturally aspirated, 4-cylinder, 2.5-litre Millington Diamond Engine producing 350 BHP. Transmission is via a six-speed gearbox, manual or semi-automatic, and by mechanical front and rear differentials with the option of mechanical or active central differential. The car can be produced in either 2 or 4 wheel drive formats.

Alison McRae has said that she would like production of the car to continue following Colin's death.

The R4 appears in Codemasters titles Colin McRae: DiRT, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 and DiRT 3.

Complete WRC results[link]

World Rally Championship victories
#	Event	Season	Co-driver	Car
1	23rd Rothmans Rally of New Zealand	1993	Derek Ringer	Subaru Legacy RS
2	24th Rothmans Rally of New Zealand	1994	Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
3	50th Network Q Rally	1994	Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
4	25th Smokefree Rally New Zealand	1995	Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
5	51st Network Q Rally	1995	Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
6	43rd Acropolis Rally of Greece	1996	Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
7	38° Rallye Sanremo — Rallye d'Italia	1996	Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
8	32° Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España)	1996	Derek Ringer	Subaru Impreza 555
9	45th Safari Rally Kenya	1997	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
10	41ème Tour de Corse — Rallye de France	1997	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
11	39° Rallye Sanremo — Rallye d'Italia	1997	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
12	10th API Rally Australia	1997	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
13	53rd Network Q Rally	1997	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
14	31° TAP Rallye de Portugal	1998	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
15	42ème Tour de Corse — Rallye de France	1998	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
16	45th Acropolis Rally of Greece	1998	Nicky Grist	Subaru Impreza WRC
17	47th Safari Rally Kenya	1999	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
18	32° TAP Rallye de Portugal	1999	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
19	36° Rallye Catalunya-Costa Brava (Rallye de España)	2000	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
20	47th Acropolis Rally	2000	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
21	21° Rally Argentina	2001	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
22	29th Cyprus Rally	2001	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
23	48th Acropolis Rally	2001	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
24	49th Acropolis Rally	2002	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC
25	50th Inmarsat Safari Rally	2002	Nicky Grist	Ford Focus WRC