Colin McRae gained fame as a Scottish Rally player. McRae was a British Rally champion in 1991 and 1992. He is the son of Jimmy McRae and Margaret McRae. In 1995, Colin was the first Scottish/British rally driver. He made a record by winning The British Rally Champion title at an early age. This record stood for 27 years.

Colin resided for 39 years in Scotland and had won 25 World Rally Champion Title. Also, the Rally player was a member of the order of the British Empire. He won Safari Rally three times in 1997, 1999, and 2002. Keep reading to get more info about McRae.

Early Life and Education of Colin McRae

Colin McRae was born in Lanark, Scotland, on August 5, 1968. Jimmy McRae is the father of Colin, and Margaret MacRae is Colin’s mother. The Rally racer has two brothers, Alister McRae and another younger one whose info is not shared. Among them, Colin is the eldest one. Who started a competitive career in motorsport riding trial bikes at an early age.

Colin McRae clicked the picture before a rally race.
Colin McRae clicked the picture before a rally race. Source: Pinterest

McRae was Raised in rural Scotland, along with his siblings, Alister. He is also a Rally driver who attended his first racing in 1991. Moreover, he has attended more than 76 rallies till now. Alister is now rallying in the ARPC and IRC. Also, he has completed the World Rally Championship as well.

McRae first joined Robert Owen Primary School. And then, later a year, he went to Lanark Grammar School. Moreover, after studying for one year in that school, McRae entered a college. Despite gaining interest in motorsport riding trial bikes, Colin also holds an honorary doctor of science degree from Napier University.

All of the members in Colin’s home have different achievements. McRae was raised in an atmosphere where most people loved to be rally drivers. As mentioned above, Jimmy McRae was Colin’s father, and the mother was Margaret McRae. His father was also a rally player who had been active for 13 years and participated in 25 rallies. Moreover, McRae’s mother was a Kiwi and a former swimming representative.

Married Life of Colin McRae

Colin McRae married a senior researcher, Alison McRae. She started her career in business through the Glasgow community. Moreover, she holds more than two decades of work experience as an entrepreneur. Alison also worked as a director of the Liverpool City Council to support tourism.

Colin married Allison in his early 40s and welcomed his firstborn, Hollie McRae. Moreover, Hollie is a motorsport broadcast journalist by her profession. After their daughter, they were blessed by a son named Johnny McRae.

The image was captured when the world rally champion was wearing black glasses and black Switer.
The image was captured when the world rally champion was wearing black glasses.
Source: Pinterest

Colin shared he married Allison after being in a relationship for over five years. The rally driver and his wife were hesitant to reveal their wedding info. Hence, the couple kept their wedding vows secret.

Despite leading the fame of world-champion Rally driver, Colin lived a normal life. Although the couple couldn’t spend much time together after marriage, Alison believes she had precious memories with Colin. Ken Block is also a professional rally driver like McRae.

Five Times World Rally Champion, Colin McRae, died.

The world Rally champion passed, at 39 years, on September 15, 2007, in Lanark, Scotland. McRae died but also became the reason for killing his five-year-old son, Johnny McRae, Ben, a friend of Johnny, and Graeme Duncan. They all died due to an aircraft that did come near down to their house.

The Picture of Colin McRae was taken when he won the World Rally Championship title in 1995.
The Picture of Colin McRae was taken when he won the World Rally Championship title.
Source: Pinterest

As per the report, Colin flew to meet one of his friends by Helicopter. As informed already, he had three more people in the Helicopter. Even being prohibited by Karen and Mark, Colin brought their son Ben into the Helicopter. It is blamed on Colin for doing unnecessary and unuseful things.

Court has concluded that the accident could have been avoided if Colin didn’t engage the fly at a low level. Several Reports have also stated that Colin was not well-trained to fly Helicopters into the valley area. Moreover, he was flying in G-CBHL aircraft, which is irresistible to control, and crashed exactly into trees lining the side of Mouse Valley. Mathangi Arulpragasam is also one of the members of the British Empire like McRae.

Net Worth of The World Rally Champion

The World Rally Champion had around $5 million before his death. As a world-champion Rally Racer, he used to earn roughly $75,500. After several years McRae switched to m-sport, where he used to make over six million in two years from the Saw McRae deal. McRae has won 3 Safari rallies. Moreover, according to the report, a Safari Rally champion gets around $1 million.

The World Champion rally driver clicked a picture when he went to repair his car.
The World Champion rally driver clicked a picture when he went to repair his car.
Source: Pinterest

Although McaRae had plenty of vehicles, among them, Subaru Legacy ( $26,695 ),  Subaru Impreza ($32,790), RS, Ford Focus RS WRC (42,000), and Subaru Impreza WRC97 ($279,821) were his favorite. Apart from the cars, Colin had hobbies with Helicopters as well. He had an aircraft named Eurocopter AS350B2 Squirrel, where he spent around $1,850,000. Overall, McRae had spent $2,231,306 on vehicles.

The rally racer lived in a 17th-century Jerviswood House in Lanarkshire, which had a valuation of around $250,000 in the 90s. However, nowadays, the same house’s worth is around NS 8,837,645,513 ($8,578,112). Also, Colin’s wife used to earn around £116,103 ($1,413,84) as a Liverpool City Council director.

Awards and Achievements of The World Rally Champion

Colin was a talented rally racer who had made several records. McRae started his career in rally driving in his early 20s, and his first rally was Swedish Rally in 1987. Similarly, his first win was in New Zealand In 1993. Colin was the first young person who won the World Rally Championship Drivers title in his early 20s. Moreover, this record stood for 27 years.

Colin McRae's picture was captured when he was celebrating his victory.
Colin McRae’s picture was captured when he was celebrating his victory
Source: Pinterest

MacRae used to play for the team Subaru, Citroën, Ford, and Škoda. As mentioned above, Colin was the most extraordinary rally driver who had raced 146 rallies. Moreover, he successfully secured 25 victories. Furthermore, This victory was one of his vital records. The rally driver had also won ROC (Race of Champions) in 1995.

Derek Ringer and Nickey Grist were McRae’s Co-drivers with whom he used to share the driving. McRae’s final win race was The Safari Rally in Kenya in 2002. Eventually, McaRae died after participating in his last rally race, named the Rally of Turkey in 2006.

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