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| For immediate publication |
| 2004.11.16 |
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THE NISSAN RALLY RAID TEAM - DRIVER PROFILE
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Colin McRAE (GB) - DRIVER
Born 5th August 1968 at Lanark (Scotland)
Married, two children
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Colin McRae has become, without doubt, one of the outstanding rallying talents of his generation. Before Colin could even hold a driving licence, he had been successful in motor sport, winning the Scottish schoolboy motorcross and trials championships when he was 13. At the age of 16 he won the West of Scotland auto-test (slalom) championship. He began rallying in 1986 and in 1987 joined the British Junior Rally Team to compete on the Swedish WRC event. Colin returned to the Swedish in 1989, this time with a Ford Sierra XR 4x4, finishing 15th overall. Later that year he went to New Zealand with a rear-drive Sierra Cosworth coming 5th. This showed what could happen in the future. He had a four-wheel drive Cosworth in 1990, finishing 2nd in the British Championship behind David Llewellin and coming 6th on the 1990 RAC. For 1991 a whole new world was opened when he was invited to join the Prodrive Subaru team for the 1991 British Rally Championship.
1993 saw him complete a whitewash, winning every round and never being headed on a single rally. Suddenly Britain had a genuine contender for the World Championship and, a year ahead of his initial intention, McRae hit the international scene in 1993. Britain's rally fans went wild when McRae stormed home to win in New Zealand, the first British win on a World Championship event since the late Roger Clark's RAC win in 1976.
In 1994 McRae added Australia to his collection, rounding off the season with victory on the RAC. 1995 saw McRae win his home event for the second season in a row to finally clinch the sport's greatest prize, the Drivers' Championship. His big dream had become true - he was World Champion.
In 1996 he was awarded one of Britain's highest honours when he was named a Member of the British Empire (MBE). At the end of 1998 he left Subaru after eight years and moved to Ford. Wins in Kenya and Portugal showed his speed. In 2000 he won in Spain and Greece, but was not able to fight for World Championship title after the very bad accident in Corsica. Season 2001 started badly, but in Greece he took his third consecutive World Rally Championship victory and was on the top again. In Greece 2002 he achieved a hat-trick on this rally and in Kenya he was able to achieve 25th WRC victory as a first driver in history. In 2003 he joined Citroen and finished 7th on WRC for drivers.
In 2004, Colin joined the Nissan Rally Raid Team to take part in the Dakar. A new team and a new area of motorsport, where he made the most of his considerable driving skills and created quite a surprise. The McRae-Thörner duo was formed. Recently, he took part in the UAE Desert Challenge, still alongside Tina, to improve his driving skills on sand. A few days later, he took part in the Baja Portalegre in Portugal. An opportunity to test the Pickup 2005, and, at the same time, claim his first rally-raid victory...
CAREER RECORD
| 1986 | Started rallying with Talbot Sunbeam |
| 1987 | Finished 36th on Swedish Rally with Vauxhall Nova on his WRC debut |
| 1988 | Joined Peugeot Junior team |
| 1989 | Drove Ford Sierra to fifth in New Zealand |
| 1990 | Sixth on RAC with Ford |
| 1991 | Joined Prodive Subaru
British Rally Champion |
| 1992 | Five WRC events - 2nd in Sweden - 8th WRC for Drivers
British Rally Champion for Subaru, taking all six wins |
| 1993 | Eight WRC events 1st WRC win in New Zealand with Subaru
8th WRC for Drivers |
| 1994 | Wins in New Zealand and RAC Rally with Subaru
4th WRC for Drivers |
| 1995 | Full WRC programme with Subaru
Wins in New Zealand and RAC Rally
Wins the World Championship for Drivers |
| 1996 | Wins in Acropolis, San Remo and Catalunya with Subaru, 2nd WRC for Drivers |
| 1997 | Winner of five WRC events with Subaru, 2nd WRC for Drivers |
| 1998 | Winner of three WRC events with Subaru, 3rd WRC for Drivers |
| 1999 | Move to Ford, wins in Kenya and Portugal, 6th WRC for Drivers |
| 2000 | Wins in Spain and Greece with Ford, 4th WRC for Drivers |
| 2001 | Drives for Ford, Wins in Argentina, Cyprus and Greece, 2nd WRC for Drivers |
| 2002 | Drives for Ford, Win in Greece and Kenya, 4th WRC for Drivers |
| 2003 | Drives for Citroen, 7th WRC for Drivers |
| 2004 | Dakar - Nissan Rally Raid Team - Nissan Pickup 2004
UAE Desert Challenge - Nissan Pickup 2003
Baja Portalegre - Nissan Pickup 2005 - 1st overall classification |
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