The Days After: Mourning Colin McRae (1968 - 2007)
A little over a day after a tragic helicopter accident has claimed the life of famous rally driver Colin McRae and three others, including his 5-year-old son Johnny, fans and members of motorsport alike are paying tribute to the legend with kind words. With perhaps the most fitting gesture so far, the Scottish Subaru Impreza Drivers Club formed a parade of Subarus outside of McRae's home in Lanark, Scotland, leaving a makeshift shrine and a note that said, among other sentiments, "May you enjoy going 'flat out' in God's special stage." Well known drivers in other types of motorsport also followed the career of McRae, and those who have commented on his death include Formula One driver David Coulthard, legend himself Jackie Stewart, and MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi. [Source: Reuters, Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty]
Gallery: Mourning for Colin McRae
McRae's website, colinmcrae.com, had been made completely black since the accident occurred on Saturday, but has since been turned back on and hosts a statement from the McRae family made by Colin's father, Jim McRae. It notes that McRae and his Johnny leave behind wife/mother Alison and daughter/big sister Hollie. A place has also been set up on the site where people can leave condolences.
The other two people who were killed in the helicopter crash have now also been positively identified as Ben Porcelli, a good friend of Johnny's, and Graeme Duncan, a longtime friend of McRae's who was visiting McRae on holiday.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
FThorn 9:46AM (9/17/2007)
They sell Neons in Scotland? (pic)
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Patrick Perron 9:51AM (9/17/2007)
It's the first thing I noticed too ;-)
My sympathies to the McRae family.
500 2:09PM (9/17/2007)
I saw Neons, Jeep Cherokees and Chrysler minivans in Ireland last time I visited, so I'm sure they sold them in Scotland too.
But back to the McRae news, very sad, especially when children are involved.
John R 9:51AM (9/17/2007)
What an awesome gesture! Godbless and Godspeed, Mr. McRae.
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Matt 10:49AM (9/17/2007)
I can't believe he died, this is tragic. My prayers go out to him and his family
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Matt 10:49AM (9/17/2007)
I can't believe he died, this is tragic. My prayers go out to him and his family
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Strongbadinator 11:43AM (9/17/2007)
Man... this is going to piss me off for a long time. I feel for the family, as well as motorsports in general. It's bad enough when a well-liked father passes away, but it's so much worse when that person is one of the most successful and skilled individuals in his field. Now we'll never see more of his amazing driving, and his son will never have a chance to follow in his fathers footsetps. What a load of crap. Here's to hoping his daughter Hollie follows her father's footsteps and becomes the greatest rally driver of all time.
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Ben H. 11:50AM (9/17/2007)
What an absolute shame! A great driver like Colin erased so suddenly. He had much more to live for!
I am grateful for his existence and the tenacity he brought to the sport. My thoughts are with you and your family.
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DRFS Rich 12:37PM (9/17/2007)
Fix the typo in the headline! "McRae."
Terrible shame, prayers to his family.
- R
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rapid roo 1:07PM (9/17/2007)
something that we are hoping to get going here in Southern California...
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1347900
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Will 2:15PM (9/17/2007)
Mr. McRae was my all-time favorite rally driver. He never whined about inane little things, he just did everything he could to make the sport better. God bless.
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st3ph3n 2:43PM (9/17/2007)
None of the cars are running Neons, trust me. A big thank you to Autoblog for posting this. There was actually 25 cars or so that turned up but we loaded into a smaller number so as not to cause too much of a scene. My car is the third one back in the convoy.
We felt it was the right thing to do yesterday to pay our respects to a man who was quite simply a hero to all of us.
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st3ph3n 4:17PM (9/17/2007)
It was just pointed out to me you meant the Dodge Neon, not neon lights. Whoops!
Grant 5:11PM (9/17/2007)
R.I.P Colin and wee Johnny
"We are here for a good time, not a long time"
Scotland has one lost one of its favourite sons but god has gained one hell of a chauffuer
Mine is car number one in the pic JDM STI 555
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WillTheThrill 4:54AM (9/21/2007)
Sometimes people are great.
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Bryan 9:31PM (9/17/2007)
God bless him and his family!
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Don 10:39PM (9/18/2007)
What a horrible tragedy. Godspeed to Colin, Johnny, Ben, and Graeme.
God Bless you all.
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Subie.tv 1:12AM (9/19/2007)
Colin is missed by rally fans around the world. Its a tragedy that is still difficult to accept.
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