David Coulthard leads tributes to 'fearless' Colin McRae
Times Online and agencies
David Coulthard has led the tributes to Colin McRae, the former world rally champion, who died in a helicopter crash yesterday.
McRae, 39, was confirmed today as one of four who perished in the crash, along with his five-year-old son Johnny, and his friends, six-year-old Ben Porcelli, of Lanark, and Graeme Duncan, 37, who lived in France.
The Squirrel aircraft came down in Jervis Wood near Lanark just after 4pm and immediately burst into flames. Strathclyde police said the damage to the helicopter was so bad that it could not immediately be determined how many people were on board. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been called in to investigate the cause of the crash.
Fellow Scot and Formula One driver Coulthard, who was due to partner McRae in Team Scotland for the latest version of the Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium in December, said: "He and Alison [McRae's wife] were good friends and I cannot imagine either without the other.
Related Links
* Rally ace McRae dies in air crash
* A legend of the road
* The people’s champion
"He was fearless, flamboyant, blindingly quick in the car.
"He was very down-to-earth, matter-of-fact that he was so good. He had all the good Scottish traits.
"I competed in the Race of Champions with him because of my respect for him. I remember him urging me on, telling to get the finger out for Scotland.
"We had some great times and his passing is a terrible blow for the McRae family and everyone who came in contact with him."
First Minister Alex Salmond also paid tribute, saying his death was a great tragedy. “Colin McRae was an outstanding Scottish sportsman of international stature and achievement," Salmond said.
“His death is a great tragedy, and my thoughts and condolences are with all the families and friends bereaved by this terrible accident.”
David Richards, McRae's former boss at Subaru where he enjoyed much of his rallying success, said his death was a terrible loss.
Speaking in the paddock at Spa before the Belgian Grand Prix, Richards said: "It's been a really miserable night.
"We were flying across when I received a telephone call from Ari Vatanen (1981 World Rally champion) asking whether I heard the news. He didn't tell me until I landed. He said 'just carry on and I'll tell you when you land'. It's unbelievable.
"Colin had a competitive spirit like I've never seen in any other individual in my life that could say 'I can do anything'.
"I was talking to my son last night. When Colin was world champion Jamie was 14, and he remembers getting on the back of a jet-ski with him, going ski-ing with him. Anything like that Colin was up for it, and you could throw any car at him in any recognised motorsport and he would do well.
"I remember when I put him in a Formula One car at Silverstone and how great he was in that straightaway. It could have been a sports car, touring car, Paris-Dakar, you name it. It's unusual to call somebody a legend, but it's very appropriate for Colin."
Richards recalls occasions when he was tearing his hair out with McRae, but knows it was his "have-a-go-instinct" that was also so endearing and made him such a hit with fans.
"It was just trying to the maximum no matter what happened with Colin - but some of the accidents he had!" added Richards.
"I always look back to Finland in 1993 when he must have rolled on three separate occasions in the event. Every time we thought that was the end of the story, only for him to knock the dents out of the car. By the third accident I was knocking the dents out of the car with him!
"He was one of those people that had an extraordinary spirit that you can't define or describe very easily."
It has been suggested if McRae had been less gung-ho he might have won more than the one world title as he was runner-up on three other occasions and third once.
But Richards replied: "That was his style, that was the special thing about him. You would never want to take that away from him."
Naturally, as time progressed and with family in mind, Richards witnessed McRae change into a more mellow character.
"I can remember the challenges I used to have trying to manage him in the early stages," Richards said. "He was crashing every week and we couldn't pay the bills. We couldn't keep up with the accidents.
"But I knew him more of late as great company and a great pal. I met him at Goodwood the other day, and then I chatted to him on the phone only this week. He had matured over the years to be a great guy."
Nicky Grist, McRae’s co-driver since 1997, said the whole of the rally world was in shock.
“He was such a great character and will be sorely missed," Grist said.
Speaking about his time with the former world champion, he added: “I have to say they were the best times of my life. We used to drive to the max and push everything to the absolute limit. But when it came to socialising we had great fun also.”
Grist said about the death of his son and the other two passengers: “Johnny adored his father and loved everything about cars. I am sure he was the new rally driver for the McRae family.
“Colin was always regarded as being a bit of a risk-taker in cars, but when it came to flying a helicopter he was a totally different man.
“The one thing he always told me, he said ’You don’t mess about with a helicopter. They are bigger and better than I am and you have to drive them as such.”’
A post-mortem examination will be carried out on the bodies with a formal identification expected within the next few days. Police are preparing a report for the procurator fiscal.
David Learmount, an aviation expert, said McRae was somebody who took safety very seriously. “There’s no way at the moment you can know whether something was wrong with him," Learmount said. “I don’t think the weather was bad enough. He would have made a judgment about the weather, and I don’t think he would have misjudged that.
“It’s pure speculation but my suspicion would be that something went wrong with the helicopter.”
