In the first part of our Jimmy McRae interview the five-time British Champion looked back on his own career. In part two we move on from his first appearance on Rally New Zealand to the exploits of his sons, Colin and Alister.RSM: Your first time in New Zealand – back in 1988 – was rather frustrating, retiring your Sierra XR4x4 almost before the rally started.JM: We did a test with the car and the car was fine, but Gary (Smith, the car owner) was putting a fresh engine in and it was a better engine. The thing went bang on the road section after the first stage.
That was one of the big disappointments, because I thought the car would have done rather well on the gravel.
In fact, I thought by the way it went that it would have been as good in the gravel stuff here as the Cosworth.
In some ways it is a shame that Ford didn’t put a bit more development into that car because if they had done so they could have had a good car for gravel, and the Cosworth would have been the best car for tarmac. It would have been a good combination. Instead they just built and rallied a few of them.
Wet and slippery conditions on the 1987 RAC Rally for Jimmy McRae and the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. Photo: Martin Holmes
So how was the Cosworth on gravel?
It was a frustrating car, but one of those cars you just had to get on top of. You had to drive it: if you allowed it to drive you, it just didn’t work.
But you came back to New Zealand with a pair of Cosworths the next year to do a father-and-son rally with Colin. What was the idea behind that?
I was doing it to try and bring Colin’s career on, and believe it or not it was probably cheaper to do that deal to come here than to try and do a European rally.
Because I had been out here and seen the stages before I thought it was a fantastic place to go, and that Colin would learn more on that rally than a lot of other rallies.
We did it all ourselves. I bought one of my cars from Ford, and put the suggestion to them that we might well do this, Colin and I.
They gave me the other car to use, and we managed to get a sponsorship deal through Pirelli and Ford, and one or two bits and pieces that Gary Smith arranged over in NZ, including some local Ford support.
Gary got all of the guys out here, and I brought four guys from the UK. It was all done very much on a shoestring, and it was a hell of a lot of work to organise, and get the cars in containers with all of the bits and pieces.
That result Colin got there [5th overall – his first top-10 WRC result] certainly helped his career from that time on. It was a very, very special trip.
Clan McRae: Alister, Margaret, Colin and Jimmy at home in 1993. Photo: Martin Holmes
Was Colin’s taking up rallying an inevitable thing?
Yes, it was always going to happen, even from the days when he was young.
The likes of the Scottish Rally would be a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so he would find his way up there with his grandparents and his mother.
Later, when the SMT and DTV guys were coming to Scotland, they would always ask, “Where’s Colin, does he want to come in the van?” He’d be away just like that!
There are quite a few photographs of him there in the service area with overalls on, helping out.
And in his early days – and those of Alister – you were still rallying seriously, so you would have done some of the same events?
Colin started rallying with a Talbot Sunbeam in 1986, and I was still winning rallies and championships when he started more seriously in the Nova in 1987.
So we did quite a few events where he was in the same rally as I was. It was clear he was a pretty special driver even from those early days. He finished eighth overall in the Scottish Rally I think, in the Nova, against a lot of much bigger cars.
Also in those early days he and Alister might be doing the Scottish championship and I was doing the British championship. I would always be there on the Scottish events to lend a helping hand.
You weren’t allowed to do gravel notes or anything like that then, but I would be in the service areas or at the end of the stages biting my nails waiting for them to come out.
Ian Grindrod and Jimmy McRae with the MG Metro 6R4 at a British championship launch in 1986. Photo: Martin Holmes
When Colin, and then Alister, went into the world championship it must have been great that as a former top driver, you had a way of supporting them that went beyond standing on the sidelines?
I was happy. A lot of people said with my doing the gravel notes, well why do you do it – you are up and away in the middle of the night, away from the rally in some ways.
Well, I would rather have done that and had that bit of input into it than sat either at home or in a service area waiting to hear what was happening. With the gravel notes at least you were doing something, and could think that a bit of my input has helped.
Part of doing the gravel notes and helping with the tyre choices and so on is having your son phone up and ask what you think. You have a good feeling that he is asking you what you think.
Obviously if it is the right choice then you feel pretty good, and if it isn’t you feel bad.
One of my memories from Rally Australia in 1996 was of you standing in the flooded water crossing at the Bunnings plantation, amid all of the confusion of cars stopping and stalling, trying to slow Colin down before he got to the water.
That’s right. It is all part of being involved [Jimmy eventually had to push Colin to safety after he stalled in the flooded crossing].
So what were the great moments for you as a father?
One I wasn’t there for was when Colin won his first championship rally in New Zealand. But we obviously followed it very closely.
Those were the days before the internet and all of the other technology we have now to watch a rally from a distance, and the phone bill was enormous.
There were lots of people phoning us too, and we were up all day and all night. It was a very special time.
Gary Smith was one of the first to phone after the finish, which was nice as he had a bit of a hand in it, having helped us come out to NZ in 1989.
Jimmy McRae and co-driver Gary Smith at the Otago Rally in 2005.
Do you think Colin and Alister achieved what their talent suggests they could have achieved?
Unfortunately Alister never showed his true potential. He never had the right break at the right time, and a lot of time when I thought doors would have been opened to him, they weren’t.
People were nervous, I think at the success I had, and the success Colin had, and were reluctant to give Alister the break.
Back in 1995 when Colin won the championship, Alister drove a Malcolm Wilson Escort – very much a clubman car run on a shoestring – finished fourth on the RAC behind Colin, Carlos [Sainz] and Richard [Burns].
The following year it looked as though we had a world championship drive for Alister. I don’t know who it was at Ford or what happened. The story is that when Carlos went to Ford he said he didn’t want Alister in the team because he would be talking to his brother (at Subaru) about tactics.
Anyway, suddenly the gate closed there, and he never really got back with the momentum he should have. He went to Formula 2 after that.
Obviously when it came to the Hyundai it was difficult, and unfortunately he got in with Mitsubishi when they were on the way down.
The same thing when he took a step back to the PWRC and the differential broke on the last day at Rally Australia, just as he seemed about to take the title.
But at the end of the day, if he had won the championship, I don’t know if it would have been any different at all.
It must be strange for you to look at the events these days compared to the RAC and other events you were doing back in the 1970s, with 40-odd stages per event.
Aye, you couldn’t do those events now with these modern cars. I think the specialisation of the cars has a lot to do with it too. They are far too specialised, just megabucks machines.
McRae slides an Escort around a Scottish forest.
You later moved into classic rallying yourself. Has that been enjoyable?
I would probably have been into the classic rallying a bit sooner, but I was that busy with the gravel notes and looking after the interests of Colin and Alister.
I enjoy it, and am reasonably competitive at it, so why the hell not? It is good fun, and back to the atmosphere of rallying when I started. I enjoy it from that side.
You contested the Otago Rally in New Zealand, where the rules are a little different to Europe in the freedom of the cars that are eligible. Did you find that strange when you arrived there?
Ireland is very much the same actually: they turn a blind eye to all sorts of things.
I think that is a good thing, so long as people don’t go overboard with really special things that annihilate everybody else.
Even classic rallying is getting very expensive though, because to build a MkII Escort with the right bits is expensive. The likes of an Avenger with a V8 engine in it is good fun, and the guys are enjoying it.
Not everyone can afford those £100,000 special Escorts – like the one Colin had in his shed!
Tackling the Otago Rally stages in an Escort RS1800 in 2005. Photo: Peter Whitten
Footnote:
After this interview, Jimmy McRae went on to win the 2005 Otago Classic Rally, defeating team-mate Pasi Hagstrom along the way.
Shortly after, Jimmy and sons Colin and Alister contested the Scottish National Rally – all in Mk2 Escorts. However, dad had to give best to his sons – Alister finished sixth and won his class by 11 seconds from Colin (who lost 1m20s in road penalities after a repairs in service).
It was the first time all three McRaes had contested the Scottish Rally since 1992, and one gets the feeling that, despite being beaten, Jimmy would have been the proudest McRae at the finish!
Colin was tragically killed in a helicopter accident in 2007, along with his son, Jonny, and two others.
Alister now lives in Perth, Western Australia.
A subscription to RallySport Magazine give you access to all our rally
content from Australia, New Zealand and around the world – with news,
features and experiences nobody can match.
Our team are dedicated to providing an unrivalled experience which
shares, supports and promotes the sport of rallying.
By clicking "Subscribe Now" you agree to receive news, offers and updates on RallySport Magazine.
If you do not wish to receive marketing communications, you can update your preferences in My Account.
We will commence charging your payment method after the 7 day free trial expires.
If you cancel after expiry of your trial, cancellation will take effect from the end of your current monthly subscription period.
You will not be refunded any fees paid to RallySport Magazine unless otherwise set out in the terms and conditions.
Account Created!
Welcome to RallySport Magazine VIP Membership.
Get ready for your rally news experience to completely transform.
Start browsing news, exclusive VIP content or check out your account.
