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Kopecký Handed Colin McRae IRC Trophy

Jan Kopecký made up for the disappointment of losing out on victory on Barum Czech Rally Zlín by scooping the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy, which is presented to the most spectacular driver who best embodies the spirit of the rallying legend on rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Local hero Kopecký was leading his home rally by 26 seconds but slid off with three stages remaining and was forced to retire when he was unable to regain the road after his Škoda Fabia became stranded.

But his efforts behind the wheel grabbed the attention of the award judges consisting of the IRC’s Motorsport Development Manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Gilbert Roy, the Director of Editorial and Programme Development for Eurosport Events, and Colin’s father Jim McRae.

McRae Sr (right) was in Zlín to present the trophy to Kopecký. He said: “I’ve been out on a few stages yesterday and today. The conditions were very difficult but Jan drove very well and was unlucky not to win and it’s for this reason that he’s been chosen.”

Kopecký joins Bruno Magalães and Freddy Loix as the other recipients of the coveted award.

Loix handed Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy

Freddy Loix has won the second Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy following his victory on Rali Vinho Madeira earlier today (Saturday).

Driving a factory Škoda Fabia S2000, Loix was fastest on 14 of the 21 special stages, despite nursing an injured left shoulder, sustained when he fell off a motorbike two weeks before the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event. He received several painkilling injections in order to get through the rally, which totalled almost 300 competitive kilometres.

The award is the result of a partnership between Eurosport Events, the promoter of the IRC, and the Colin McRae Vision charity. It goes to the driver producing the most spectacular performance on each IRC round that best reflects the spirit shown by rally legend McRae, who lost his life in a helicopter accident in 2007.

The winner is chosen by a panel of judges consisting of Jean-Pierre Nicolas of the IRC, Eurosport Event’s television head Gilbert Roy and Jim McRae, Colin’s father.

After receiving the trophy from Nicolas (pictured left), Loix said: “I knew Colin very well because we did many years WRC rallies together. But on top of that we were friends and spent a lot of time at home on motorbikes. I knew him better as a friend than as a rally driver so this means a lot to me.”

 

Vision Establishes Link In The Caribbean

The Colin McRae Vision spread its wings across the Atlantic in July when the charity forged an official partnership with the Barbados Rally Carnival.

Not only did Greg Cozier and his team organise to promote the Vision objectives and sell our merchandise during the Carnival, they also did a deal with Tuthill Porsche to run a 3 litre 911 for Jim McRae on the Historic Rally section of the event.

Proceedings were quickly underway on the opening Saturday with The Subaru International Rallysprint event being held at the Bushy Park Racetrack in the south-east of the island. All competitors were given 3 races in which to establish their best time before being seeded for the knockout stages- with some of the locals providing great entertainment demonstrating 4 wheel drifts through the Esses.

Unfortunately a sudden downpour late in the afternoon meant that the course had to be altered to avoid the in-field grass track which had very quickly become waterlogged. The resultant delay meaning that the head to head overall run-offs between the class winners had to be cancelled due to darkness having fallen.

Nevertheless it was a hugely enjoyable days’ motorsport for competitors, officials and spectators alike.

During the middle week, the infamous Bajan hospitality was much to the fore and the numerous British crews were warmly received by the Carnival organisers - with the recce for the Summer Stages Rally tending to get in the way of the various barbeques and beach parties organised during the week leading up to the event.

Team founder and patriarch Francis Tuthill was not only in charge of the preparation of the car for Jim McRae, but had also brought a 2 litre Porsche to use himself on the event.

High temperatures and humidity greeted the crews on the morning of the event and with 12, albeit short, stages to be negotiated – all the crews were drinking plenty of fluids to ensure that they would not succumb to dehydration during the course of the event.

The opening Turner’s Hall stage comprised a very difficult stretch of road with many tight corners, bumps, camber changes, potholes and inclines - not ideal Porsche terrain, however Jim set an acceptable time whilst assessing how the Bilsteins would react over the serious bumps that littered this stage.

Stage 2 at Pickerings however was a totally different proposition on a wider smooth surfaced fast piece of road and Jim took full advantage to set his first fastest time of the day.

The afternoon section of the rally comprised 6 stages and at the end of the leg Jim was in third position overall, close behind local drivers Greg Cozier and Andrew Jones in their respective MkII Escorts.

Whilst happy with progress, Jim was a little concerned about the 6 night stages as it had been many years since he competed in the dark and was not sure if his eyesight would be up to scratch!

Whist Greg utilised his local knowledge to good effect and gradually stretched his lead over the remaining stages – Jim joined battle with Andrew Jones and after swapping times throughout eventually win the C5 class as well as take the overall runners-up spot by a mere 6 seconds at the finish.

Francis Tuthill in the other Porsche overcame various problems and setbacks to finish a creditable seventh overall at the finish.

The Rally finished just before midnight and the despite being very fatigued the crews still made time to have partake of a celebratory rum at the Greenland Agricultural Centre finish venue.

In keeping with the atmosphere and camaraderie that typifies the event – the prizegiving was arranged on the beach at the Surfside Bar in Holetown at noon on the Sunday and memories of the proceedings rapidly faded into a rum punch induced state of oblivion!

A huge vote of thanks must go to Greg & Vicki Cozier, Spencer Hutchison and the whole BarbdosRally Carnival team for their unbounded hospitality and in providing such a unique and enjoyable rallying experience.

Roll on next year!!

 

Jimmy McRae Nets Class Win On Rally Barbados

Prior to the Carnival, organisers announced the event's partnership with the Colin McRae Vision charity.

An apt arrangement, entirely in keeping with the Carnival's tenth anniversary and evolution to a more-affordable Historic format, the alliance embodies the aims and objectives of both the admirable Vision charity and those of the Historic Rally Carnival organisers.

To achieve its aims fund-raising is part and parcel of the initiative and Barbados Historic Rally Carnival founder Greg Cozier, a staunch advocate of the Vision principles, is delighted with the new partnership: "It is a great privilege to be associated with Colin McRae Vision and its admirable objectives. Our event is thrilled to assist wherever possible in promoting the fund-raising efforts, through the sale of merchandise at the various motor sport and social events."  

Barbados Historic Rally Carnival 2010 LOCAL BAJAN DRIVER WHITE WINS KING OF THE CARNIVAL 2010; JIMMY McRAE NETS CLASS WIN ON RALLY Driving a 3-litre Tuthill Porsche 911 through a totally tropical mixture of searing heat and flash downpours, five-times British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae adapted swiftly to the bumpy challenges of Barbados' Turners Hall special stage and relished the swift, smoother sections of the Pickerings stage, to clinch second overall and a class win in the Karcher Summer Stages Historic Rally.

"I was flat-out in fifth on the fast bit of Pickerings and spotted my wife Margaret spectating, something she almost never does anymore," explained Jim.

"Her mouth was wide open and it was clear she was pretty awestruck, so I kept my foot in it and nearly missed the braking point!", grinned Jim during the Carnival prizegiving at Surfside beach bar, Holetown the following Sunday.

The performance earned McRae and co-driver Campbell Roy the Classic Group 5 class win, after a determined early challenge from Andrew Jones fell by the wayside when the Bajan local had a spin in his Cosworth-powered Mk2 Escort.

Another Tuthill Porsche 911 was on the island for the event. It was driven to victory in 1993 by the founder of the company, Francis Tuthill. Two drivers, Francis and his London-Sydney co-driver and friend Anthony Showell drove the car in the RallySprint, with Anthony achieving sixth place. A minor 'off' relegated Francis to 12th, but he redeemed himself with fourth overall on the rally.

Overall Historic rally winners were Greg Cozier and Jamie Marsh. The 'father' of the Rally Carnival pedalled his immaculate Mk2 Escort to win both the Classic Group 4 class and overall honours. Cozier said: "We were quicker by three seconds on the first tight stage, but when Jimmy pulled back six seconds on the long Pickerings in the Porsche, I was a bit nervous. Not much I could do about it other than drive."

Bajan rallying hotshot Stuart White, co-driven by Jason O'Neil, dominated the RallySprint event at Bushy Park Raceway on the Rally Carnival's first weekend, in his highly-modified 1600cc Toyota Starlet, following this with a Classic Group 3 class win in the Historic asphalt rally on the second weekend.

White's consistent class performance throughout the two-week Rally Carnival - during RallySprint qualifying, RallySprint heats and both routes of the rally - all contributed to the final score and earned him the prestigious Andrew Phillips Memorial King of the Carnival prize. This award commemorates its namesake's huge efforts toward raising the profile of special stage rallying in Barbados, through inviting a succession of international drivers and cars to compete on the island. Andrew's initiative essentially laid the foundation for what became the Barbados Rally Carnival many years later. The King of the Carnival prize is an exchange programme; if a local Barbadian crew wins, they get an all-expenses-paid entry to a foreign event which is consequently used as a promotional tour by Rally Carnival organisers. If a foreign crew wins the prize, they get a free entry back to the Barbados Rally Carnival. This exchange of people and ideas, the richest prize in Caribbean motor sport, helps the local organisers to promote and grow the Rally Carnival. This year, the exchange arrangement is with the Killarney Historic Rally in Ireland in December.

Greg Cozier is delighted with this result: "We couldn't be happier with the outcome," he said.

"Stuart is the ultimate representation of a club competitor, building and maintaining his own car and subsidising the costs by working on other rally cars in his spare time."

A close-fought rally battle between Yorkshire drivers Graham Wilcock and Nick Cook for fourth Historic car was resolved when Cook lost 12 seconds spinning his Mk1 Escort, leaving Wilcock to maintain the pace in his Opel Manta and grab the position. A worthy Post Historic Group 1 class win and ninth of the 12 Historic cars was taken by the Oxford Universities Motorsport Federation's (OUMF) mid-1960s Riley 1.5. Driven by Ding Boston and co-driven by Ingo Jahn, the venerable BMC machine is well-known to Barbados fans, having now contested some six events on the island.

West Countrymen Bernard Northmore and Peter Brace took Northmore's 1972 Renault 12 Gordini to third in the Post Historic Group 1 class at the RallySprint and managed to repair a sheared alternator bracket in time to complete their rally, second in class to the OUMF Riley.

Praise came from all competitors for this inaugural Historic Rally Carnival; some comments that more stage distance and variation would be better next year will be taken into account for the 2011 event.

Jimmy McRae echoed the feelings of all at the rally's close-to-midnight finish, when he said: "I tell you, I certainly know I've driven the stages we've done! It's been a great event and it would be really good to come back next year and go for the overall win. . . in fact, Greg has already invited us and we've been making plans!"

Obviously, a great time was had by all!

 

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2010

The weather was glorious at this year’s Festival, which was held at Goodwood House from Thursday 1 st to Sunday 4 th July and attracted record crowds. The theme “Viva Veloce! – The Passion for Speed” celebrated the centenary of Alfa Romero and saw The Red Arrows overhead each day and spectacularly a Vulcan bomber paid a flying visit too.

The Vision Charity was again in attendance with our stand alongside the Richard Burns Foundation. The friendly rivalry continued with the DIRT2 Showdown where participants could choose to drive for either Burns or McRae, challenging to complete the stage with the fastest times of the day. The prize for the winning times each day was a run with Jimmy McRae. This took place on the rally special stage at the top of the hill-climb course in a Subaru Legacy entered by Ian Gwynne of BGM, which Colin had previously driven.

Celebrity drivers were invited to demonstrate their skill on the game and Kris Meeke again came out on top with the fastest time of the weekend at 1.44.29 closely followed by Ott Janak with a time of 1:51:12 and then Paul Nagle, who returned again and again in an attempt to compete with Kris!

On display this time were the 1995 WRC Championship winning Subaru Impreza L555 BAT and the McRae R4. Both attracted a lot of interest over the weekend but required constant cleaning to keep the dust away!

Next door to us on the other side was the Red Bull stand where Mark Webber was interviewed, along with Christian Horner, Chief Exec of Red Bull Racing.

It was perhaps ironic that the Lotus stand was next door to them but there was no sign of Heikki Kovalainen. The Lotus girls were not afraid to visit however!

Opposite us was Monster Energy with Ken Block and his WRC Ford Focus. He did pay us a visit but declined the invitation to attempt the game and try to beat the time Kris had set!

All our merchandise proved to be very popular with visiting rally enthusiasts from all over the world. We were also accompanied on the stand by Fran Richley of Action-Art, who, under the easy up canopy behind the R4 set up a display of his motorsport prints. During the weekend a picture of the R4 was commissioned and prints will be available in due course. A donation is given to the charity for every print Fran sells. He also very kindly donated two prints which were the prizes for the raffle on Saturday and Sunday. His work attracted many visitors and can be found at www.action-art.co.uk.

All in all a great weekend was enjoyed, with more friends made and many renewed.

For more photos, video clips and comments please visit us on our newly established Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/mcraevision.

 

First Colin McRae IRC Trophy to Magalhães

Bruno Magalhães has been chosen as the inaugural winner of the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy following his victory on Sata Rallye Açores, his first in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

Magalhaes, 30, was chosen by a panel of judges consisting of the IRC’s motorsport development manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas (pictured right), Eurosport’s Gilbert Roy and Colin’s father Jim McRae.

The award is presented to the most spectacular driver on each round of the IRC starting from the Azores and is part of the association between Eurosport Events, promoter of the IRC, and the Colin McRae Vision charity.

After accepting the award from Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Magalhães, from Portugal, said: “It’s a big honour for me because Colin is my hero. He was the driver who impressed me the most. I remember him in Rally of Portugal in 1999 when he won the first two special stages by one minute over the other guys and won the rally. He was incredible so for me it’s an honour to receive this gift because Colin is a hero.”

Nicolas added: “It’s a pleasure to give this trophy to Bruno after discussing with Jimmy McRae and Gilbert Roy we decided in this rally the fighting spirit of Colin was best shown by Bruno who has done a really fantastic rally. We hope he will fight again on the next rally to compete for the second trophy.”

Kris Meeke, who finished second, and fourth-placed Andreas Mikkelsen were also shortlisted for the trophy.

Intercontinental Rally Challenge And Colin McRae Vision Join Forces

Eurosport Events, the promoter of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, and Colin McRae Vision have today announced an exciting partnership to support charities and good causes that help young people living close to the route of IRC events.

Colin McRae Vision was established following the accident which claimed the lives of rally legend Colin McRae, his five-year-old son Johnny, and two family friends in September 2007, to improve health and education for children around the world.

Eurosport Events and Colin McRae Vision will work with organisers of selected rounds of the IRC to identify suitable projects and initiatives. They will also work with IRC’s partners, manufacturers and drivers to promote the efforts of Colin McRae Vision and increase the levels of exposure and support, with regular updates on the IRC website (www.rally-irc.com), in the IRC newsletter and during television coverage of IRC rounds.

Furthermore, as part of this partnership, a new trophy will be created: the "Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy" that will be presented to the most spectacular driver on all remaining rounds of the IRC, starting with Sata Rallye Acores from 15-17 July. An end of season award, the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Driver of the Year, will be handed over at the IRC’s end of season awards ceremony.

As a result of the incredible support they have received from fans around the world, the McRae family aims to see as much charitable benefit generated as possible following their loss. They remain extremely focused on ensuring Colin McRae Vision is able to raise and distribute as much funding to good causes as possible. Colin’s widow Alison wishes the main focus of the Vision to be in the areas of children’s health and education.

In March, during the IRC’s inaugural visit to Argentina, Alison McRae joined defending IRC champion Kris Meeke, who was Colin McRae’s protégé and is now an ambassador of Colin McRae Vision, to present a cheque for 74,000 Argentine Pesos (about 14,100 Euros) to the Municipal Hospital in Carlos Paz, where the IRC-counting Rally Argentina was based. The money was used to buy a new X-ray machine to negate the need for patients requiring X-rays to be transferred to Cordoba, some 35 kilometres away.

Marcello Lotti, General Manager of the IRC, said: “We are very proud and delighted to be supporting the work of Colin McRae Vision, a very worthwhile charity. While Colin McRae never competed in the IRC, he was an iconic name whose spectacular driving style and spirit lives on in many of the drivers currently competing in our series. Colin was a man of the people who captured the imagination of rally fans around the world. We look forward to collaborating on a variety of initiatives during the remainder of the current IRC season and beyond.”

Colin McRae’s father Jim McRae added: “After Rally Argentina it quickly became apparent Eurosport Events represented the type of forward thinking organisation that the Vision was looking to partner with. We are currently in dialogue with two further IRC events, Barum Czech Rally Zlin and RACMSA Rally of Scotland, to identify suitable projects for the Vision to support and we hope that these will represent the first of many future donations that we will be able to facilitate through our association with the IRC. With the assistance of the promoters, event organisers, teams and rally fans around the world, we feel we can make a genuine difference to some of the local communities that welcome the IRC family each year.”

Jim McRae Told Not To Hold Back At The Rally Show!

The fifth annual Rally Show was held at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire on the first weekend in June and the Colin McRae Vision Charity was delighted and honoured to be present in the capacity of official charity partner to the event this year.

There was a sense of relief after the torrential ran of last year, that Saturday dawned bright and sunny for the 2010 Show. This helped to encourage spectators to attend and numbers looked to be well up on last year. As a consequence there was great interest in the 'Vision' t-shirts that we had on display – with our new "If in doubt – flat out" range proving particularly popular.

Jimmy McRae was representing the family for the weekend and was kept busy signing autographs and having his photograph taken with large numbers of his fans. He was even asked to sign the bonnet of a Metro 6R4!

Colin's original Vauxhall Nova and the recently refurbished Ford Sierra Cosworth were the cars chosen from the collection to be on display this time around. The Sierra holds a special place in the McRae collection, as it is the only car that was driven competitively by Jimmy, Colin and Alister.

There was also the opportunity to play the iconic 'Colin McRae – DIRT2' game on a state of the art D-Box motion seat. Game producers 'Codemasters' had kindly produced a special stage especially for the occasion and all-comers were welcome to try and post the fastest time of the day, with the winner getting the chance to sit in the co-drivers seat of the Sierra Cosworth with Jim at the wheel during the 'History of Rallying or 'Demonstration' runs on the Chatsworth special stage.

This was to prove very popular and not only with the public - guest drivers who were keen to try their hand included Ford WRC stars - Jari-Matti Latvala and Henning Solberg, Finnish BRC front runners Jarko Nikara and Matti Rantanenn and up and coming Irish star Craig Breen. Jarko eventually posting the fastest time of the top drivers – but only after several extra attempts at the stage.

They were however all completely outshone by Formula Junior 1000 Champion – Cameron Davis who powered through the stage a full 3 seconds quicker than anyone else!! – no prizes for guessing what Cameron does in his spare time then!!

Saturday's winner from the public was young Jason Buckley of Ireland and Jimmy was amused when Jason advised him not to feel he needed to hold back in the demonstration run! On Sunday, an impressive time set by Matthew Hirst from Doncaster proved to be the best of the challengers.

Sunday dawned wet and a good deal cooler, however this proved beneficial for jacket sales and indeed all our stock of 'Vision' umbrellas was quickly snapped up. The sun came out in the afternoon however, and the magnificent backdrop of Chatsworth House was restored to its full glory.

This year we held a raffle on both days, with the winner also enjoying a run on the special stage alongside Jim in the Cosworth.

On Saturday, lucky James Davis from Leeds was delighted when dad Tony gave up his raffle prize and let him take the ride. On Sunday, David Owens from Wigan realised a lifetime ambition to sit in with the 5 time British Champion on a real rally stage. David's partner Fay Hunter had been the only female to buy a ticket and couldn't quite believe she's missed out to David! We hope he has bought that coat he promised her!

The charity donated a new award to the Rally Show this year– the "Colin McRae Vision Trophy". In the true spirit of Colin style, this was to be awarded to the competitor/car combination that provided the most flamboyant and entertaining action to the crowd over both days. Consultation between the event organisers and the 'Vision' resulted in a unanimous decision that the inaugural award should go to Mick Stafford with his 1972 4.9 litre Firenza. The car had a truly impressive engine note and enormous rear spoiler and was duly christened "the flying parcel shelf".

Henning Solberg was also commended for his entertaining display of "donuts" that he keenly demonstrated with the Focus WRC down the start/ finish straight of every run!

Jimmy was in good company over the weekend, with many of his contemporaries such as Russell Brookes, Simo Lamponen, Andrew Cowan, Mike Broad and Tony Mason all putting in appearances amongst many others.

All in all it was another fantastic event with good humour and camaraderie from organisers, spectators and competitors alike.The "Vision"would like to thank Mark James for arranging and conducting the "Audience with...." element of our show, Kevin Bradley of aireshelta plc for the stage shelter and Malcolm Neill of The Rally Show for all his support and help.