Colin McRae tribute convoy reaches 30-miles long
Click above for high-res gallery of Colin McRae's tribute
Oh, those Brits. When they're not
The half-mile-long sign you see above broke the Guiness World Record for, err, writing signs with cars by a cool 800, but more importantly Colin's fans raised over $80,000 for the McRae family's chosen charities.
Gallery: Colin McRae's tribute convoy
PRESS RELEASE
30 mile McRae convoy smashes world records
More than 1000 Subaru owners and thousands more fans have celebrated the life of Colin McRae this weekend.
A convoy, which at its peak stretched 30 miles with an estimated 1100 Subaru cars, left Colin's home town of Lanark on Saturday morning, led by his father Jimmy McRae. Nine hours and 300 miles later, it arrived at Prodrive's headquarters in Banbury, having been cheered along the way by thousands of fans who stood on every available motorway bridge on route.
"Literally every bridge had people waving and cheering us along with many hanging the Saltire from the railings." said Grant Hendry, who led the McRae Gathering convoy. "It turned what was an already memorable event into a truly amazing and emotional occasion."
The convoy re-gathered at Prodrive's headquarters in Banbury on Sunday morning, before being led up the M40 by Colin McRae's original 1996 Impreza rally car. In a fitting finale to the event, a sign almost half a mile long and made up of 1086 Subarus spelt out COLIN MCRAE and the Scottish Saltire in a new official Guinness World Record – smashing the previous record by more than 800 cars. The cars then broke a second Guinness World Record by creating the largest parade of cars as they left the Prodrive test track.
It is estimated that the event has raised nearly £40,000 for the McRae charities.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Red 8:55AM (9/02/2008)
Holy crap. Sucks it took a tragedy to bring everyone together like that, but it looks to have turned out to be a wonderful event.
Reply
3seriesisking 9:21AM (9/02/2008)
That's really cool....good for McRae's memory.
Cheerio old friend
Reply
Leviathan18 11:31AM (9/02/2008)
yeah the guy at 6:42 was crazy
Reply
Graham 11:40AM (9/02/2008)
Wow, did Colin McRae cure cancer? No. Did he dedicate his life to achieving justice and equality for all? No. Well, he must have been some really important person for all this fanfare. No he just drove cars really fast and got rich doing it....
What a sad statement about what people think is important.
Reply
Dazza 11:56AM (9/02/2008)
Graham: you insensitive git. McRae, like Richard Burns before him, was one of Britain's most successful rally drivers. To Brits, his untimely death ranks among the likes of Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna.
What's sad is that there are complete bores like you in this world who relish in attempting to take away peoples' enjoyment in sports you clearly don't understand.
Franz 12:08PM (9/02/2008)
What's your problem? The man was a well known figure in motorsport, and his fans decided to get together in his memory.
"No he just drove cars really fast and got rich doing it..."
What's sad is that you're here on an Automotive blog trying to downplay the significance and memory of an iconic figure in the world of WRC and motorsport in general. And I suppose you missed the part where they managed to raise over £80K for various charities. If you can't understand why they did this, you need to be posting on another blog.
Graham 1:11PM (9/02/2008)
Guys, I like watching rally racing as much as anyone... I like fast cars too. I just don't see that Colin McRae or any other sports "hero" is worthy of such displays of hero worship.
THere are shedloads of firefighters, policemen and paramedics who have saved actual lives during their careers and their death might have been at most marked with a small funeral and service. There are people in the world who ARE actual heroes who don't get this sort of treatment. So, I scoff when people treat a guy who drove a car really fast, but flew a helicopter badly like some kind of saint.
People get so defensive when you point out their emperor has no clothes. I guess that is what they need to cling to in order to feel complete.
SLVR6 1:12PM (9/02/2008)
Graham, what can I say, don't speak about what you don't understand, it just makes you sound ignorant.
xpolarx 1:17PM (9/02/2008)
Hey Graham,
What exactly have you done in your life to elevate yourself to a position that makes your opinion on the merits of others worth hearing? Completely ignoring the fact that Colin McRae was a national treasure to his home country and a legendary competitor in the World Rally Challenge, he was a great guy and a human being -- deserving of any and all fanfare his friends, family and admirers are willing to give. I'm sure sitting at your computer as your waistline expands, acting as the sole peanut gallery concerning the level of celebration a human life deserves seems like a very important job; but I assure you, it isn't.
So, in light of your being in no way qualified to comment on the whether or not the memory of Colin McRae is deserving of mass celebration, feel free to shut your face you inconsequential douche bag.
Graham 1:31PM (9/02/2008)
xpolarx douchebag said:
"What exactly have you done in your life to elevate yourself to a position that makes your opinion on the merits of others worth hearing?"
I fight fires for a living and have saved millions of dollars worth of homes and definitely have saved lives... I'll put that up against whatever you do, you piece of sh!t. And by they way, my comments were important enough for you to devote two whole paragraphs to responding to them. Hate when that happens. Don't ya?
I watch Rally racing whenever it comes to my area which is not very often and we don't get "legends" like McRae coming 'round here but I do like the sport. But in the end it is just a sport. It is kind of sad for the UK that McRae would be considered a national treasure.
Reply
Franz 2:41PM (9/02/2008)
Graham, don't turn this into a silly argument about noble professions. If you have a beef that firefighters and other "heroes" by your definition aren't lauded like McRae was, then you shouldn't hate on McRae's fans for this tribute... especially since they raised money for charities in the process. Instead you should be mad at your own fans wishing they were more like Colin McRae fans.
Also, never assume that you are the standard by which everyone else should be judged. Sure, the "heroes on your 14 man crew" saved lives and homes, but don't assume that in doing that it elevates you to a status higher than the entire WRC. That's an ignorant statement. Teams and drivers make countless donations to countless charities and organizations all the time. How much have you donated? There is no yardstick for nobility. Only a person more interested in glory and accolades than the significance of the actual job would even try to make that kind of comparison.
xpolarx 2:44PM (9/02/2008)
Look big guy, no one (especially me) is trying to denigrate the heroism of fire fighters, soldiers, etc. If you are indeed a fire fighter, myself and everyone else owes you a debt of gratitude for your service. Regardless, it's not your job in and of itself that makes you exemplary in the eyes of the masses; it's how you perform at your job. Whether you feel appreciated for your work or not is your own issue...sadly, life can't hand us all an existential pat on the back for our efforts.
As for who's job is more important...I'm not going to get into a pissing contest over whether being a writer and a magazine editor matters as much as being a firefighter. If importance is boiled down to saving lives, than you've got me through and through. The bottom line in all this pointless (and long-winded) argument is that Colin McRae was a great man who did great things...whether he saved anyone's life while doing it doesn't really matter.
pippin4652 4:02PM (9/02/2008)
I'm sorry Graham, but whether you like it or not, sports stars and other celebrities will have thousands of fans and followers who will idolise them, regardless of wheteher or not you think they deserve it. In the case of sports stars they have become idols because they are the best at what they do.
I'm sure if you have saved lives, then those people may idolise you, or at least be in a debt of gratitude to you.
Maybe this event was bigger than you think, it wasnt plastered all over the newspapers or anything, it is just several thousand McRae fans paying tribute to a sporting great, its not as if the Prime Minister and the Queen turned up to say hello too.
As others have mentioned, they raised money for good causes too, so you point comes across as rather callous and ignorant.
Oh, and also, I may be wrong, but wasnt there millions of people around the world will have paid tribute to the heroic firemen from the 9/11 aftermath? I am sure that their heroism got the recognition it deserved.
Graham 1:40PM (9/02/2008)
By the way, when I say I saved lives and homes. I should say, my crew and I have saved lives and homes. No one fights a fire by himself. There are more heroes on my 14-man crew than the entirety of WRC.
Reply
PumaGTO 2:28PM (9/02/2008)
well, Firefight really is a noble and admired profession, but still it doesn´t gives you the right to badge as futile the people who done this to McRae. I bealive that if you have enouth friends and admirers, you'll have a tribute celebration just like him (well, perhaps not with 1086 subarus, but still...). Anyway, I don't bealive it's jealous, but the way you spoke made it look like it's was just it.
Franz 2:40PM (9/02/2008)
Graham, don't turn this into a silly argument about noble professions. If you have a beef that firefighters and other "heroes" by your definition aren't lauded like McRae was, then you shouldn't hate on McRae's fans for this tribute... especially since they raised money for charities in the process. Instead you should be mad at your own fans wishing they were more like Colin McRae fans.
Also, never assume that you are the standard by which everyone else should be judged. Sure, the "heroes on your 14 man crew" saved lives and homes, but don't assume that in doing that it elevates you to a status higher than the entire WRC. That's an ignorant statement. Teams and drivers make countless donations to countless charities and organizations all the time. How much have you donated? There is no yardstick for nobility. Only a person more interested in glory and accolades would even try to make that kind of comparison.
Dazza 3:52PM (9/02/2008)
"By the way, when I say I saved lives and homes. I should say, my crew and I have saved lives and homes. No one fights a fire by himself. There are more heroes on my 14-man crew than the entirety of WRC."
My God, what a self-congratulating wanker. Real heroes don't boast about what they do - they simply do it and move on.
I'm glad McRae has been honoured in this way - he was one of Britain's iconic sporting success stories.
st3ph3n 2:22PM (9/02/2008)
Graham - I took part in yesterday's even. It was organised by some people I'm priviliged to call friends too. So I take particular umbridge to your comments.
What we did at the weekend was a one off event to celebrate the life of someone who we admired and respected.
It is kind of sad that you have to moan about some people raising some money for children's charities whilst celebrating the memory of someone they were a fan of.
Reply
Mark 3:35AM (9/03/2008)
No treading on anyones toes but Graham has a point. I have never seen a gathering that strong for the everyday heroes. McRae was a wonderful driver and I can understand how a country can fully care for a shining star.
Reply
catgirlshyla 2:50PM (9/02/2008)
The ANPR Subbie from Police Interceptors!! Cool!!
Reply