Led by McRae’s 1995 World Rally Championship-winning Impreza 555, a convoy of Subarus will leave Colin’s home town of Lanark at 1000hrs on Saturday 30 August. The initially small group of Subarus will head down the A74, M6, M42 and the M40 before arriving at Prodrive in Banbury later the same day.
On Sunday 31 August, organisers of the McRae Gathering expect more than 1000 Subarus from all over the UK to gather at Prodrive. The British motorsport company is the home of the Subaru World Rally Team, where Colin spent the most successful years of his rallying career; first winning the British Rally Championship in a Subaru Legacy in 1991 and 1992, before graduating to the works team Impreza and famously becoming Britain’s first World Rally Champion in 1995.
Colin also helped Subaru win the Manufacturers’ Championship in 1996 and 1997, and his 1996 Group A Impreza 555 will lead the convoy up the M40 for the final leg of its journey from Banbury to Prodrive’s proving ground in Warwickshire.
Having just set a world record for a gathering of Subarus, the aim is then to set a world record for a parade of Subarus, both verified by a member of Guinness World Records, as all the cars circulate around the two mile test track. As a final mark of respect, the Subarus will park up on the mile-long straight to spell out Colin McRae in letters more than 100 feet tall and visible to anyone flying into nearby Birmingham International airport.
Prodrive chairman, David Richards, was instrumental in putting the young Colin into a Subaru and nurturing his talent. He said: “Colin was not only an exceptional driver, but also a remarkable person and a great friend to everyone at Prodrive. Single-handedly he brought the sport of rallying into everyone’s living room, whether it was through his sideways exploits in the forest or through the many video games which bore his name. I can not think of a more fitting tribute to Colin than a gathering of so many Subarus, a car for which he did so much to make as popular as it is today.”
“It is indeed a fitting homage to the man who inspired millions, and did so much to boost the profile of rallying the world over” added Richard Taylor, Subaru World Rally Team managing director. “That so many are committed to turning out en masse in his memory is testament to the legacy and reputation of Subaru’s first World Champion that will continue to inspire his many fans across the globe.”