Archive news

Vision at The Rally Show

A change of venue this year saw the Vision Roadshow a few miles further down the road at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire.

The Cosworth had another outing at the event and a highlight of the weekend was getting as many of the supporters out on the track with Jimmy McRae as possible. For those of you who came along, made a donation and enjoyed the ride - many thanks.

The Prodrive BMW team were also there and after Dani Sordo took Jimmy for a spin round the stage in the Mini, it's fair to say that Jimmy was impressed!

The Prodrive BMW team also offered two auction winners a drive with Dani. Big thanks to David Willoughby and Joe Bowes for their winning bids and donations to the
"Vision" .

Pirelli very kindly brought along the Subaru simulator and have donated the proceeds everyone who took a shot. Pirelli have committed to continue supporting us throughout the year at various events.

The Colin McRae Flat Out Trophy was awarded again this year.

Thank you very much to Malcolm Neill and all his team for their help and support.

Inaugural Vision Golf Day

Friday 20th May was the date for the first Charity Golf day put together by the Vision team.

Soup and Sandwiches set the teams up for a pretty full on afternoon round the Westerwood Golf Course just outside Glasgow.
Honours for the first team went to none other than Nicky Grist's team who had travelled from Wales for the event. Second prize to Flat Out Club Member Craig Callander's team - "The Fore Chancers".

After dinner and the prize giving, the auction raised just over £8000 for the charity.

The guests were thoroughly entertained by Nicky Grist who gave an account of the day that Colin joined him for his own charity golf day in September 2005.
Let's just say that golf was not Colin's forte and the golf buggy was the source of amusement for the day!

 

The Colin McRae Vision Charity will be attending a dedicated event later this year in stunning North Wales and comprises of two days of fun and fundraising. The event is being organized by one of Colin’s fans in North Wales and he is planning what looks to be a great addition to the Charity’s calendar.

The event is called ‘The Colin McRae Subaru Weekender’ and is based in picturesque North Wales and includes some of the most stunning scenery and roads that the Wales and UK has to offer. The date has been set for the 23rd and 24th July so make a note in your diary!

Here is an idea of what is planned:

Saturday – ‘Tour of North Wales’

This Tour will be a leisurely get together of Subaru enthusiasts for a drive around the amazing scenery of North Wales. We will pass Mount Snowdon and driving round one of Mikko Hirvonens favourite special stages, ‘The Great Orme’ of Llandudno. Also during the tour we will also be passing some of the actual stages where Colin McRae clinched his 1995 World Championship Title. The roads are a joy to drive so don’t forget your cameras! Oh, and yes, there will be a few tunnels!!

We will of course be stopping off at various points along the way for refreshments and photo opportunities. A small team of freelance photographers and videographers will be en route to capture just part of the experience for you.

There will be a couple of small awards presented of the end destination for the ‘Car of the Tour’ and ‘Furthest Distance Traveled’

So, that’s the Saturday taken care of…

Sunday – Static Car Show

This will be a more peaceful day with a static display of various cars and car clubs. Some if Colin McRae’s iconic Subaru’s will be on display along with a display of some very special edition Impreza’s.

At the show there will be a Raffle for the adults and also for the children with some fantastic prizes available. Each child who enters the raffle will not go empty handed. Also on offer at the show will be a selection of traders ranging from general Subaru parts to children’s attractions

If you would like to take part in the ‘Tour of North Wales’ then firstly you must drive a Subaru, the secondly you must register you and your car on the main event website by clicking here You will then be sent an entry number which will be unique to you and your car and must be shown on the day.

For the Sunday show everyone is welcome to come and have a look around the showground and see the many cars that will be on display. Car clubs from all over the UK and Ireland will be attending along with some of the UK’s Special Edition Impreza’s.

For more information please visit the main event website at www.seriesMcRae.com or visit the Facebook page or contact the organizer direct.

Rallying with Group B Raise £14,000 for the Colin McRae Vision

This year saw the Rallying with Group B Club members hold their annual ball in aid of the Colin McRae Vision. The Rallying with Group B Club aims to recreate the most exciting period in rallying by primarily demonstrating the works rally cars of the time at various events. The ball is held annually in association with the Race Retro International Historic Motorshow held at Stoneleigh Park.

During the two days of competition, Jimmy McRae was kept busy driving 3 cars -our own Sierra Cosworth, the Subaru Legacy belonging to BGM Motorsport and a Vauxhall Chevette originally used by Jimmy whilst competing in the British Rally Championship. Two rallying legends took a trip down memory lane when Ian Grindrod took the passenger seat with Jimmy in the Legacy, previously driven by Colin.

Over 200 people attended the Drivers Ball with Alison, Margaret and young Hollie McRae joining Jimmy at the dinner along with many old friends and familiar faces.

Club Chairman, Gary Gee said “It was the best ever Rallying with Group B event, Tim Foster did a fantastic job with the live stage and Saturday night’s Colin McRae Rally Driver’s Ball, organised by Kevin Furber raised over £14,000 for the McRae Vision Charity”

The Vision team would like to thank everyone who made the whole weekend such a success.

Hänninen wins Colin McRae IRC Trophy

Juho Hänninen has won the first Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy of 2011 following his exploits on Rallye Monte-Carlo, round one of this season’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

The Škoda Motorsport driver was chosen as the recipient of the prestigious award by a panel of judges consisting of IRC Motorsport Development Manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas, Gilbert Roy, the Director of Editorial and Programme Development for Eurosport Events, and Colin’s father Jimmy.

Hänninen had been controlling the event with a series of fastest stage times only to drop back when he made an incorrect choice of tyres for the snow-hit seventh and eighth stages.

After receiving the award from Jean-Pierre Nicolas at a presentation in Monaco earlier today, Finn Hänninen said: “It's very special for me to win this trophy because Colin was a very important driver and a big hero to many people. I started this rally very well and I said before the start that if it was dry it might be a problem for me but that was not the case because I think I have improved my speed so much. When there was the snow it was more of a problem than I thought because of the tyres and it is a shame to lose the rally for this reason. But to win this trophy makes up for some of the disappointment of not winning the rally when I had been leading so well."

The Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy is presented on all rounds of the IRC to the driver who demonstrates the same attacking style that made McRae a hero to thousands of fans around the world. A Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy of the Year is also presented.

Emergency Response Vehicle Comes Into Its Own...

Since providing the emergency response vehicle to the Yorkhill Childrens Foundation in June, the Subaru Forester continues to make a big difference to the response times for critical care for the under 16s.

Dr Andrew McIntyre, consultant at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children says “During the recent bad weather, the Subaru was very helpful in getting our staff out to wherever the patients were. The dreadful driving conditions also added to the stress on the ambulance service and the emergency response vehicle was a valuable complement to the service provided.”

Colin McRae Vision is hoping to continue its support for charities, such as the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation throughout 2011.

MainlyDueSouth

Chris Reid and friend George Ward, in September departed for Alaska to start an epic motorcycle adventure covering the North and South American continents with no back up, little money and no previous experience of Motorcycle travel or the continents to be crossed. The trip was named MainlyDueSouth. Along the way they were supporting the Colin McRae Vision, a charity that supports the health and education of children throughout the world.

After 24,500 miles, 88 days and 14 countries, MainlyDueSouth has finished... on time, over the expected mileage but pretty much all to plan.

"In a trip of such scale we had expected highs and lows as we completed the journey from The most Northerly point accessible by road in North America (Prudhoe Bay) to the most Sothern City of the world in Argentina (Ushuaia), but this did not happen and we experienced 88 days of sheer enjoyment!" said Chris. This is not to say that they never had the odd minor hiccup, a hospital visit in Peru for Chris with Salmonella poisoning and George’s mammoth crash just 900 miles from the end were among the things that came to test them, but even they did not manage to dampen what was to be a fantastic adventure!

Leaving Anchorage, Alaska on the 1st September Chris made it to Ushuaia, Argentina on the 20th November, Just leaving the short (2000 mile) journey north to Buenos Aires and the plane home.

For George the trip came to an abrupt stop just 900miles before Ushuaia when a car pulled out in front of him on the road and in swerving to avoid the collision he ended up in a ditch with considerable damage to his bike, luckily he escaped any serious injury and came away with just 2 broken ribs... so for the next two weeks MainlyDueSouth was a solo effort as George was unable to continue south. So close but still too far!

Along the journey they stopped and saw attractions such as Banff national park in Canada, Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks, USA, the Pyramids at Tikal, Guatemala, Machu Picchu, Peru, the Death Road in Bolivia and countless other sights all of which are on their website www.mainlyduesouth.com.

But the thing that stood out most for them was not the landscape, monuments or cities but the people they met along the way, "It was something that I had not considered when planning the trip, but for me it is what has made this the trip of a lifetime, we met such amazing people along the way, some who stopped to share a story in a gas station to those who invited us out to dinner or even to stay in their homes for the night and it did not matter which country it was or what language we spoke, we were always amazed at peoples kindness" said Chris

Leaving Alaska and Canada as they were entering autumn and finishing in Argentina as they were just starting their summer the boys experienced all kinds of weather as they camped their way south... "The coldest came in Bolivia when we slept at over 4000meters and our sleeping bags froze to out bivvy bags" commented George. Then there was the heat in southern USA reaching over 43 degrees and the rain in Panama which turned a dry road into a river in minutes.

But whatever the weather the miles had to be covered and a daily average of around 400 miles per day meant that the boys could have the odd day off for sightseeing and the occasional party...

The fact the trip was raising money for a good cause also was received well throughout the trip "I reckon that over half of the population of North America now knows about the Colin McRae Vision" jested George after finding it hard to get from the bike on occasion due to the interest shown from passing locals!

On completing the trip Chris declared that " the trip has been better than I could have ever imagined it to be and for that I have a lot of people to thank, most importantly my family, without who I would not have been able to take 3 months away and to everybody who has helped in anyway large or small and to those who made 2 strange lads feel welcome on the other side of the world!"

McRae Vision Donate in Cyprus

Colin McRae Vision, an official partner of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, made a substantial donation to ELPIDA, a charitable foundation for children with leukaemia and other cancers living in Cyprus.

The money, which was topped up by donations from the Cyprus Automobile Association and Cyprus Rally sponsor FxPro, will be used to purchase electronic infusion pumps for the delivery of chemotherapy.

Colin McRae’s mother and father, Margaret and Jim McRae, attended the 2010 IRC Awards Ceremony on Sunday 7 November to make the presentation of 18,000 Euros to representatives of ELPIDA, which was founded in 1991 by doctors, nurses, parents, scientists and friends of children suffering from cancer. Its mission is to help children with cancer in any way possible.

Colin McRae Vision, which was established following the death of the 1995 world rally champion in 2007, and Eurosport Events, the promoter of the IRC, announced their official partnership in June of this year with the specific aim of identifying suitable projects and initiatives that help young people living close to the route of IRC events.

Colin McRae Vision Ambassador; Kris Meeke wins Colin McRae IRC award for 2010

Kris Meeke has won the inaugural Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy of the Year for his performances in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge this season.

Although the Briton failed to defend his Intercontinental Rally Challenge title following a spate of accidents and mechanical failures, his efforts at the wheel of his Kronos Racing Peugeot 207 earned him the accolade following a unanimous decision by the panel of judges consisting of Colin’s father Jimmy McRae, the IRC’s Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Gilbert Roy from Eurosport Events.

After receiving the award from McRae at the IRC Awards Ceremony in Limassol, Cyprus, on Sunday night, Meeke said: “Without the support Colin offered I’d never have been able to progress my career and it means a great deal to me to receive this award in Colin’s memory.”

Jimmy McRae added: “He’s made some mistakes and had a bit of bad luck but no one deserves this award more than Kris. I sat with him in a test eight years ago and realised then he was going to be a star. I’m pleased to say I was proved right.”

Meeke’s solitary IRC victory in 2010 came on Rally Internacional de Curitiba in March. Co-driven by Irishman Paul Nagle, Meeke was a podium finisher in Azores and Scotland.

Bouffier wins Colin McRae IRC Award

Bryan Bouffier has been chosen as the winner of the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy for the FxPro Cyprus Rally.

The French ace was selected following his heroic efforts to repair his damaged Peugeot 207 Super 2000 on Friday’s first stage and the subsequent string of fastest stage times he recorded as he mounted his recovery.

A panel of judges consisting of Colin’s father Jim McRae, the IRC’s Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Eurosport’s Gilbert Roy, chose Bouffier because they felt his efforts had best embodied the spirit of Colin McRae, the legendary 1995 world rally champion who lost his life in a helicopter accident in 2007.

“I did not meet Colin personally but I remember the emotion and the fantastic results,” said Bouffier. “I am very happy to get this gift even though I damaged my car twice.”

Bouffier follows in the footsteps of previous winners Bruno Magalhães, Freddy Loix, Jan Kopecký, Juho Hänninen and Guy Wilks. A special Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy covering the entire 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season will be presented at the IRC Awards Ceremony in Cyprus tomorrow evening (Sunday).

Wilks takes Colin McRae IRC Trophy

Guy Wilks may have driven for honour rather than points today after being forced to miss Saturday’s last two stages, but he did not leave the RACMSA Rally of Scotland empty-handed.

The Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy celebrates the memory of one of rallying’s most spectacular drivers. Wilks earned the award thanks to a bravura performance in which he won three of today’s four epic stages despite not being eligible for points. The Škoda UK driver was presented with the trophy by Jimmy McRae, Colin’s father and one of the three-man judging panel with Eurosport’s Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Gilbert Roy.

“Guy’s pace today has been remarkable,” said McRae. “To come back in and put up these times when there was no points in it for him was remarkable. I saw him out there and he was driving as if he wanted to win it.”

“Yesterday was quite fraught,” said Wilks, “and it resulted in us going out mechanically. It was a big disappointment, because obviously we had high hopes, and we knew it was going to be a big battle.

“It’s one thing to drive very fast, it’s another thing to do that over such long stages. It takes great skill on both sides of the car. On the last stage today we had nothing to fight for in terms of winning the rally, but I said to Phil, ‘Okay, heads down here, we’re going to go,’ and he said, ‘Right, okay.’ And everything came out absolutely perfectly. He has, over a number of years, enabled me to do that.

“It was very important to come out and show the car and the team off and show the true spirit of rallying, which is to get out there and enjoy the driving as much as the winning. These stages are so good to drive and it’s a great credit to the organising committee that they’ve been in a fantastic condition.”

Colin McRae Vision Makes Donation To Charity

Colin McRae Vision has used its partnership with the Intercontinental Rally Challenge to make a substantial donation to a charity based in Zlín, where round nine of the IRC will take place this weekend (27-29 August).

Established following the death of the 1995 world rally champion, his young son Johnny and two family friends in a helicopter accident in 2007, Colin McRae Vision aims to improve health and education for children around the world.

IRC champion Kris Meeke (pictured second left), Colin’s former protégé and an ambassador for Colin McRae Vision, helped to present the cheque for 90,000 CZK (about 3700 Euros) to the Children’s Traffic Foundation, which supports children who have lost one or both of their parents in a road traffic accident.

“Children who lose a parent are often left without resources to pay for education, hobbies or sports activities and the work done by the Foundation helps to limit the effect of their loss,” said Jim McRae, Colin’s father and a trustee of Colin McRae Vision. “Helping the Foundation fits our aims perfectly and we’re delighted to offer our support, which will help seven children living in the Zlín area with financial assistance for their education for one year.”

Since formalising their official partnership in June, Eurosport Events, the promoter of the IRC, and Colin McRae Vision have been working with organisers of selected rounds of the IRC to identify suitable projects and initiatives that help young people.

They will also work with the 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, in the IRC newsletter and during television coverage of IRC rounds.

“One of the main objectives of the partnership was to help charities and good causes based close to the route of IRC events and we’re delighted such a worthwhile initiative, namely the Children’s Traffic Foundation in Zlín, will benefit from such a generous donation from Colin McRae Vision,” said Géraldine Filiol, Managing Director of Eurosport Events who is present in Zlín.

Barum Czech Rally Zlín will also mark the third time this season that the Colin McRae IRC Flat Out Trophy will be presented. Handed to the most spectacular driver who best embodies the spirit of the rallying legend on rounds of the IRC, Jim McRae will join IRC’s Motorsport Development Manager Jean-Pierre Nicolas and Gilbert Roy, the Director of Editorial and Programme Development for Eurosport Events, in choosing the latest recipient of the prestigious award.

 

Consolation For Kopecky As He Wins Colin McRae Flat Out 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 Skoda 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 Strafford 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.

Jim Clark Rally Supports The Colin McRae Vision Charity

The Jim Clark Rally hosts six separate events which count as rounds in national, local, specialised and one-make championships over three days of competition and it was to the town of Duns that the Colin McRae Vision took our retail unit on Friday 28th May.

The event fired up around six o'clock with the ceremonial start just feet away from the first competitive flat-out special stage set through the streets of the old market town. We had an excellent spot close to all the action where five separate rallies started in Duns Square. As the cars exceeded 100 mph through the town it was quite a site – and very noisy!

The retail unit was selling official mechanise with all the profits going to the charity and as the evening went on, the temperature dropped and our beanie hats were very popular. On Sunday, the unit moved to the service area of the 140 car Reivers Rally which reigning Scottish Rally Champion David Bogie won with a commanding performance despite the weather!

After a good number of years trying, Welsh ace Gwyndaf Evans won the Jim Clark International Rally.

The charity are very grateful to Colin Pagan and all his team at the Jim Clark Rally for supporting the Colin McRae Vision Charity at this great weekend of events.

Colin McRae Vision At The Scottish Motor Show, Knockhill

This years' Scottish Motorshow was blessed with perfect weather and certainly drew out the crowds over the weekend. It also boosted our sales of headgear with the downside being that the 'Vision' umbrellas which are usually a safe bet for Knockhill were not required this time around!

Visitors to the stand were able to have a look in, around and under the bonnet of Colin's World championship winning Subaru Impreza (L555 BAT) and have a browse through the retail unit.

We were pleased to launch the latest models in the 'Vision' collection -which included a 1/32 slot car version of Colin's iconic Mkll Escort, complete with a 19,000 rpm motor and fully functional front and rear lights. Also having its first outing was a diecast 1:50 scale model DAF truck featuring a mural of Colin.

We had also brought along stocks of the new "if in doubt ---- flat out" t-shirts and these were to prove to be our top selling item and we had call for additional stock after a busy Saturday!

Also in attendance at Knockhill were Chris Reid and George Ward, the Scottish adventurers who are undertaking the "Mainly Due South" marathon motorbike charity ride down the entire length of the American Continent later this year. They are planning to travel from Anchorage in Alaska to Tierra del Fuego (22,300 miles!!!) later this year raising funds for the 'Vision' in the process. Chris and George brought their bikes along and were on hand to publicise their event and sell raffle tickets to boost their fundraising efforts.

Please visit their website on www.mainlyduesouth.com for more information on their mammoth trek.

All in all it was a cracker of a show to start off the 2010 events season and we look forward to our next outing, the Jim Clark Rally on the weekend of 28-30th May.

'Vision' Charity Karting Success

The ‘Colin McRae Vision’ gave further support to the Yorkhill Children’s Hospital recently, when they sponsored the catering and entered 2 teams for the annual Yorkhill Children’s Foundation Go-Kart Grand Prix.

The adrenalin fuelled event took the form of a 2 hour endurance race at the Scotkart indoor karting arena in Cambuslang.

A total of 13 teams, comprising 4 drivers per team, were entered, each having undertaken to raise as much sponsorship funds for Yorkhill as possible.

The good natured banter as the teams were given their safety briefing and issued with helmets and overalls soon changed as the competitive juices started to flow and the red mist descended as the practice session drew to a close.

We were especially pleased to have 5 time British Rally Champion and Vision Trustee – Jim McRae, on hand to offer the benefit of his experience and advice to the Vision teams.

The grid positions were determined by the amount of sponsorship raised and the ‘Vision 1’ team were both surprised and delighted to find that they had raised the most of any of the teams present (£2,100) and were to be on pole position.

Our No1 team was captained by one of Colin’s best friends - ex Suzuki British Superbike rider John Crawford (or JC as he is better known in the motorsport world). He had some task on his hands trying to keep some form of order and control over his young charges! These consisted of the 3 recipients to date of the Scottish Rally Championship - Colin McRae ‘if in doubt----flat out’ award – namely Stevie Brown, David Bogie and David Wilson.

JC decided to give the honour of lead off driver to David Bogie and he didn’t disappoint – utilising the clear track to establish an early lead for the team.

Lapping at maximum speed is extremely tiring and the tactics were to change drivers at regular intervals and for each driver to complete 2 x 15 minute sessions during the race.

All was going smoothly and according to plan with number 2 driver Stevie Brown consolidating and extending the lead, however things were about to get interesting once David Wilson took over for his first stint!

Seemingly any form of courtesy or road manners are not a necessary requirement north of Inverness!! Not long into his session, David came to the attention of the race officials for what could only be called ‘over enthusiastic driving’. After an official warning the next misdemeanour resulted in a Black Flag, which meant David being called back into the ‘pits’ for a mandatory 30 sec penalty and an enforced change of driver – with JC taking to the track earlier than scheduled.

The penalty lost the team the equivalent of a whole lap and although they retained the lead, the second placed team, from financial services company Morgan Stanley, were now breathing down their necks.

JC however used all his race experience to stay cool under the pressure and re-establish a buffer for the team.

As the race entered the second hour – it was apparent that fitness levels would play a part and we would see if our youngsters had been putting sufficient effort into their training programmes?

Driving was obviously becoming more ragged and David Bogie’s second stint was cut short on the call of the team captain after he too received a warning for ‘carving up’ the opposition!!

Stevie completed his second stint without incident and I believe was the only one of our drivers who actually avoided meeting with the displeasure of the race officials!

David Wilson then set out to compensate for his earlier misdemeanour, promising the team that he would behave this time around – what were the chances? Once again driving without the calming influence and directional input of a co-driver were to be beyond David and the dreaded ‘Black Flag’ was soon in evidence again!!

To say that David disagreed with the decision would be a bit of an understatement – never seen so much steam coming out from under a helmet before!!

All this action led to the race at the front becoming very close once again, with the lead chopped down to only a handful of seconds as we entered the final half hour of the race.

JC seemed to be extending the lead again, but a final warning, when he overtook another kart under a yellow flag, led to concerns that victory could be lost.

JC therefore decided to come in before he landed in more trouble and left it to David Bogie to see the team home for a well deserved victory.

The ‘Vision 2’ team which included part time ‘Vision’ helpers Jo Roy and Craig Dickson, as well as Craig’s dad Graham and his friend David MacLellan, started off from seventh place on the grid, but were determined to try and get themselves up into a podium position by the end of the race.

Consistently fast laps saw them gradually move up through the field and at the last driver changeover and with only 15 mins left, they were tantalisingly close in fourth position overall.

A quick changeover and a sterling final stint by Craig saw a delighted ‘Vision 2’ team grab third overall and join their more illustrious teammates on the podium.

All in all it was a great fun evening and resulted in around £12,000 being raised for this very worthwhile and important cause.

I feel sure the ‘Vision’ will be back next year to help raise even greater funds and of course to protect our ‘Champions’ title.

Subaru And The "Vision" Join Forces To Help With Emergency Response Car

At the beginning of the year, the charity donated £35,000 for equipment for a specialist Paediatric Intensive Care ambulance. The intensive care unit at Yorkhill is developing and expanding its ability to provide fast and mobile support to other hospitals treating critically ill children . Once purchased, the ambulance will allow life saving treatment to be started earlier and be continued during the child’s road journey to Yorkhill.

To compliment this specialist ambulance, the service was keen acquire an Emergency Response car to be used in situations where the ambulance is not available, not fast enough or not required.

The Yorkhill Children’s Foundation approached the Colin McRae Vision to ask if they could help. With its close links to Subaru, the Vision contacted Jim Hutchison, Dealer Operations Manager for Subaru. Subaru and   Michael Noble of Alex F. Noble & Son have very kindly donated a Subaru Forester 4 wheel drive car. Marked as an emergency vehicle, the vehicle will be perfect to cope with the varied applications the team require for both terrain and weather conditions. The Subaru Forester will mirror the clinical service’s ethos of responsiveness, reliability and safety. Everyone involved in this effort are delighted with the result and look forward to continuing the special relationship now forged.

Duo Take On Mammoth Motorcycle Ride To Raise Money For The Vision

Chris Reid of Inverurie, Scotland and his friend Mav of Aberdeen will be riding motorcycles 22,000 miles in aid of the Colin McRae Vision Charity this September. This seems fitting as one of Colin’s great passions in life was his motorbikes.

The journey, which has coined the name MainlyDueSouth, will take the pair from as far north to as far south as is possible by road through the America’s. Starting in Anchorage, Alaska, they will first travel travel north to Prudhoe Bay before heading south and continuing until the road runs out at Ushuaia, Argentina. If that alone is not enough of a challenge, they have set also set out to complete the trip in 12 weeks, meaning an average of 265 miles a day!

Farmer by trade, Chris learned to drive by the age of 7! His passion for rallying started when, at the age of 9, his dad took him to see Colin drive his Subaru Legacy through Penmachno on the 1992 RAC rally. He remembers his dad saying that Colin would be the next best thing and he certainly wasn’t wrong! Both Chris and George have many memories from spectating, one of the most memorable also being one of the most disappointing! In 2001 Colin was set to take the championship and watching him on the limit through St Gwyno; confidence was high. Chris recalls, “Colin didn’t disappoint, as he came through we were all sure he was going to stuff it! He was at all angles, it was unreal! Unfortunately it was not to be and on hearing the news that Colin had rolled and was out of the event we all felt like going home. I will always feel lucky to have witnesses the best that rallying has ever seen. Colin was one of a kind.”

Mav heralds from mid Wales, where he and Chris became good friends, sharing a keen interest in motorsport. Mav helped prepare the Peugeot which Chris drove to win the 205 Challenge in 2006, picking up the junior championship and fastest stage times award to top off the year.

As events transpired, they both ended up in living in Scotland, Chris to farm and Mav to study engineering. By this time Chris could no longer afford to rally and riding around the world on motorcycles seemed like a cheaper form of entertainment – really! After both passing their motorcycle tests, plans were hatched and MainlyDueSouth was born. As the trip was by now inevitable, it was decided that it would be a good idea to use it to raise money for a good cause in the process; and what better than a charity set up in memory of their hero and all time legend of motor-sport – Colin!

The vision has already done some great work for worthy causes. One of which is a hospital in Carlos Paz, which the Mainly boys plan on visiting on their way South. The hospital has benefited from the Vision by receiving a donation to provide new, state of the art X-Ray equipment, giving the local population a better standard of health care. Money raised from MainlyDueSouth will focus on funding dedicated education projects.

If you would like to support MainlyDueSouth, or indeed just find out more about what the boys are up to, more information can be found on their website www.mainlyduesouth.com . You may also contact them directly through the site; they do their best to answer e-mails!

Alternatively, donations can be made directly at www.justgiving.com/mainlyduesouth  

Colin McRae Vision in Argentina

Colin McRae’s widow, Alison, made the long and arduous journey to Central Argentina last week, in order to be present in person to hand over a cheque from the ‘Colin McRae Vision’ Charity to the Municipal Hospital in Carlos Paz.

This small town just to the west of Cordoba has been home to the Rally of Argentina for many years and was one of Colin’s favourite events in the World Rally calendar, and one on which he claimed victory on the 2001 event in a Ford Focus WRC.

With the help of long time friend and Buenos Aires businessman, Paul Morey, the ‘Vision’ identified the urgent need for X-Ray equipment in the Hospital Municipal Gurmesindo Sayago de Villa Carlos Paz. Ever since the previous and outdated X-Ray equipment ceased to function several years ago, the local residents who required an X-ray have had to be transferred around 40 kms to Cordoba City in order to have this procedure carried out.

Alison was joined for the presentation by current Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Kris Meeke. Kris was Colin’s protégé and is the first ambassador to be appointed by the ‘Vision’ Trustees.

Kris kindly took time out of his busy schedule in the lead up to this years event to attend the ceremony.

The presentation cheque for $74,600 Argentinean Pesos, which will be utilised to purchase the latest ‘Optimeo’ X-Ray machine, was gratefully accepted during the presentation ceremony by the Hospital’s Medical Director, accompanied by the Mayor of Villa Carlos Paz

A commemorative plaque was also unveiled outside the X-Ray Department with the following inscription: ‘This equipment was donated by The Colin McRae Vision Charity in memory of Colin and Johnny McRae’.

The Colin McRae Vision charity aims to raise funds for charitable and worthwhile causes, with special emphasis being given to assisting children's health and education needs.

Charity Donates Money For Specialist Medical Equipment

The Colin McRae Vision Charity has presented a cheque for £35,00 to purchase the specialist medical equipment for a new paediatric intensive care ambulance for which funds are currently being raised by the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation.

The money will allow the fit out of the ambulance with state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, which could help save the lives of 300 of children a year.

Accepting the donation from Alison McRae on behalf of Yorkhill Children’s Foundation was Dr Andrew McIntyre, who launched the appeal after identifying the potential life saving benefits of a designated intensive care ambulance capable of providing vital emergency cover within a two hour range of the hospital.

He said: “This is an incredibly generous donation from The Colin McRae Vision Charity and puts us a step closer to reaching our target of £120,000. The new ambulance will allow us to treat patients as soon as we arrive on the scene, which really can make the difference between life and death.

Alison McRae said that she was delighted that The Colin McRae Vision Charity had been able to contribute to such an important appeal. The ‘Vision’ was established with the main focus being on providing support for children’s health and education initiatives.

Alison said: “This donation is the first of many we plan to make and it is particularly important that it is going towards such a worthwhile project. Colin’s fans have been amazing in their fundraising efforts, for example the McRae Gathering organised a convoy of Subaru Owners to drive from Lanark to Banbury, raising more than £53,000 through sales of stickers, posters and memorabilia.

“I am very honoured to be presenting this cheque today on their behalf.”

Colin McRae Is Voted Greatest Motorsport Hero

Rally legend Colin McRae has been voted as the all-time greatest motorsport hero by readers of weekly newspaper Motorsport News.

McRae, who won the World Rally Championship for Subaru in 1995, topped the poll ahead of Formula One aces Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark.

Scottish charger McRae, from Lanark, won the hearts of rally fans with his attacking driving style during the 1990s. He drove for the Subaru, Ford, Citroën and Skoda factory teams and won 25 world championship events in his career. He was killed in a helicopter accident in September 2007.

McRae’s father, Jim, told Motorsport News that he was honoured that Colin had topped the poll: “I don’t think he realised how many followers he had. Colin was very respected and had big support. It really is great news and takes your breath away when you realise the names who were behind him in the poll.”

Motorsport News organised a similar poll ten years ago, and that time McRae finished fourth behind Senna, Clark and Nigel Mansell.

This year’s top 100 features some surprise names from across all disciplines of motorsport. George Polley, a hot rod racer from Cambridgeshire, is 13th on the list, ahead of Formula One champions Lewis Hamilton (25th) and Jenson Button (43rd).

Yorkshire-based potato farmer Steve Bannister, a club rally competitor for more than 30 years, finished 56th, eclipsing former F1 world champion Kimi Räikkönen (72nd), who has recently switched to the World Rally Championship with Citroën.

The run-down of the top 100 motorsport heroes, as voted by readers of Motorsport News, is featured in the current issue, dated December 16/23 2009 and priced £2.50.

McRae Sr Salutes Fans

Colin’s father thanks gathering for raising charity cash.

Jimmy McRae has expressed his thanks to more than 1000 Subaru owners for helping to raise £53,000for Colin McRae Vision, the charity established in memory of his son.

McRae Sr was the guest of honour at Chester racecourse last Sunday, the venue where Colin McRae secured the World Rally Championship back in 1995, to accept a cheque for money raised during the McRae Gathering last August.

The gathering was a 2 day tribute arranged by a team of volunteers. It started with a convoy from McRae’s hometown, Lanark, to the now defunct Subaru World Rally teams headquarters in Banbury. It ended with 1086 Subarus parked up to spell “Colin McRae” and form a giant Scottish Saltire, which established a new Guinness World record for the largest ever car mosaic. Money raised will be donated to various sporting causes for youngsters and initiatives to help disadvantaged youths.

“What a fantastic job you have done,” McRae Sr told an estimated 600 strong crowd some of whom had travelled from Ireland and Portugal. “It’s quite incredible, even Colin would have been gob-smacked. I would like to say a big thank you from the McRae family.”

The cheque was presented to McRae Sr in front of a replica of the podium used for the Network Q RAC Rally in November 1995. The ceremony cultivated with McRae Sr starting up the Subaru Impreza his son used to clinch the 1995 world title, L555 BAT. He then drove across a tarmac parking area behind pipe major Martin Hewins, who performed the same role for Colin McRae during his stint in the WRC. The scenes reduced a number of onlookers to tears.

McRae Sr said he had been apprehensive before he arrived in Chester, “When i was last here 14 years ago it was one of the happiest days of my life even though i had been biting my nails and worrying for so long. It was obviously a completely different set of emotions today but at least some good has come from what was raised today. Its been quite incredible, a great idea and a great way to finish off this special occasion.”

He added that he and his family still struggle to comprehend the level of Colin McRae’s popularity. “ I don’t even think Colin quite realised, the following he had.” said McRae Sr

A spokesman for the organisers said there was no plans to repeat the McRae gathering in future years. “We’d never not want people to meet up and remember Colin but there won’t be anything like this again “ the spokesperson said. “Handing over this cheque has brought some closure to what we set out to do and we’re very proud of what has been achieved.”

McRae Sr added that children overseas could benefit from fundraising initiatives in the future. Along with Colin McRae’s former business partner Campbell Roy McRae is considering making contributions to schools located close to the route of WRC events abroad.

Star McRae Stages entry was one-off

October’s Colin McRae Forest Stages is likely to feature several star names, although the proliferation of former world champions on the entry is unlikely to be repeated.

That’s according to Jimmy McRae, who concedes there was a keenness not to detract from the memories of last year’s events when eight world title winners took part. “There’s no way we can replicate what we did before so we’re going to look at something a wee bit different although I’m not quite sure what said McRae Sr who confirmed he is planning to take part, possibly at wheel of the course opening zero-car.

American Ken Block has outlined his desire to return to the event on October 3 rd Russell Brookes and Julia Kankkunen have also expressed an interest in competing.

Colin McRae’s world title winning Subaru Impreza (L555 BAT) will go on display at Glasgow new Riverside Museum, which is due to open in the summer of 2011.

Fans Reaction

Darren Clay (Telford): “I met Colin in 1992 when i was helping as a timing control and he was good enough to speak to me then. He was a top guy.”

Rob Hesketh (Worsley near Manchester): “I bought my series Subaru on the Thursday before Colin was killed, I’ve given to my daughter Katie since because she is also a massive fan.”

Richard Margery (Sandhurst Kent): “This was part two of the gathering so I had to be here. Colin put that extra bit of effort on every corner, especially when he knew there were spectators watching.”

Ben Marks (Nottingham): “It was very emotional seeing (L555 BAT) being driven by Jimmy, I wasn’t at Chester in 1995 but I am so pleased I came today.”

Nick Nieroda (Conway): I wanted to show my appreciation to the McRae family by coming here.

Article written in the Motorsport News 12 th August 2009

McRae's World-Title Winning Car To Be Displayed In Riverside Museum

Scotland’s late world rally champion to be honoured.
By PHIL MILLER (Arts correspondent) THE HERALD

He did what few Scottish sportsmen have done in their field – achieved world champion status.

Now the accomplishments of the late rally driver Colin McRae are to be honoured by the inclusion of one of his cars at the new£74m transport museum in Glasgow.

The blue and gold Subaru Impreza in which McRae became the youngest World Rally Champion, at the age of 27, is to be at the heart of a display focusing on the achievements of the driver, who died in a helicopter crash near Lanark in 2007.

The vehicle was one of the most powerful rally cars ever made when it propelled the Scot to the title in 1995 and now it is to be one of the prize exhibits at the Zaha Hadid designed museum.

The car is to be the first of a series of loans from McRae Motorsports to the Riverside Museum, which will regularly update and change the display in his honour with new and different exhibits.

Jimmy McRae, father of the late champion, who was himself a five-time British Rally Champion, said: “We hope that the display will inspire a new generation of drivers and also capture a little of the excitement and flair that Colin brought to the sport.”

He added, “This was something that we had talked about even before Colin’s accident, and we are pleased to be part of the museum and do what we can to help. Colin was so popular we hope that this will help attract people to the museum; we are hoping that we will also show the Subaru with which he won the British Championships in 1991 and 1992 as well, sometime in the future. The Impreza was a smaller, more compact car than before, it had 350 brake horse power, and that with Colin’s talent, led him to the championship that year. We are pleased that people are going to see it.”

Lord Smith of Kelvin, the chairman of the Riverside Museum Appeal said “I am honoured to welcome Colin McRae’s Subaru car to the new display within the Riverside Museum. I am proud that the McRae family chose to be associated with the museum and through this partnership we can together celebrate one of Scotland’s greatest sporting heroes. I have no doubt that by celebrating Colin’s remarkable achievements we will help inspire the next generation of sporting giants.”

McRae was competing on motorbikes by the age of seven but it was an early fascination with cars that led to a career in motorsport, leading eventually to 25 race wins in his World Rally championship career, in which he was known for the verve and aggression of his driving style. McRae also gave his name to the best selling Play station computer game, Colin McRae Rally.

Born in Lanark, McRae came from a racing family: his brother Alister, is also a former British Rally Champion. H raced in his first rally in 1985, but trained as a plumber while he built his racing career, which became successful when he became British Rally Champion in 1991 and 1992 as well as lifting the World title in 1995, McRae was a runner-up in 1996, 1997 and 2001.

Of the £74m needed to build the Riverside Museum Glasgow City Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund have committed £69m and an appeal is currently trying to raise the final £5m.

The Museum is due to open in the spring of 2011.

OTHER EXHIBITS ON SHOW

• The Tall Ship Glenlee will be berthed outside.
• It will have 7500 square metres of public space.
• It will show 3000 objects, compared with the 1300 currently on show in the Transport Museum Kelvin grove.
• One of those will be the recently acquired South African locomotive, Glasgow Museum's largest object.
• There will be three ‘recreated ‘streets of old Glasgow. The streets will incorporate two smaller Subways and access to the shops for the first time.
• The street will cover the periods 1890-1930, 1930-1960, and 1960-1980.
• Museum visitors will be able to enter two Subway cars, four trams, four locomotive footplates and two buses.

Vision Roadshow At Glorious Goodwood

The Vision Roadshow visited the world famous Goodwood Festival of Speed on what turned out to be a glorious weekend. The event attracted 150,000 motorsport fans over three days. If you have never experienced this motorsport extravaganza then we suggest you add the date to your list of must see seven wonders of the motorsporting world. It is truly the best event of its kind.

Regular visitors to our website will know by now that at the Vision things don’t stand still. We are constantly looking for new ways to promote our cause and Goodwood was no exception. We launched several new branded products like mugs, umbrellas, beanie hats and a fantastic new lightweight waterproof jacket. As if that wasn’t enough, we had a world premiere of a stage from the new Colin McRae Dirt 2 game. We teamed up with Codemasters, the makers of the game and D-Box, manufacture’s of a fantastic motion gaming seat that brings the gaming experience to life. In celebration of Goodwood Festival of Speed we created 2 new cocktails for visitors to enjoy. The first was “The Real McRae” and the second was its slightly stronger brother “The Flat Out”. Both delicious and made from a secret recipe!

Fans are always keen to see any one of Colin’s cars close up. The organisers asked us to bring one of the better know cars along so it was the fabulous Rothmans liveried Subaru Legacy we rolled out for the job. Now we believe in under promising and over delivering when it comes to our supports, so we enlisted the driving skills of one Alistair McRae and he treated fans to the sight and sound of the big car blasting up the hill climb course on Friday morning.

The McRae Vision stand was busy from 7:30 in the morning until 7:30 at night. We had lot’s of visitors during the three days amongst them was the unstoppable Stig Blomqvist and current WRC star Danny Sordo. However it was Vision ambassador and current leader of the IRC Kris Meeke who got the crowds excited when he took up the Colin McRae Dirt 2 challenge. We had been running a competition on the simulator with the top three times each day received a gift from the retail unit. Competition was hot between hardened games and drivers. Kris took the wheel, after a familiarity run set fastest time of the day. He was raving about how good the game and seat are, he said “The driving experience is very close to the real thing”. Next day he returned and he brought along some competition in the form of World Champion, Sebastien Loeb. It was amazing to watch how quickly Sebastien memorised the stage on the first run prompted by Kris. He went on to beat Kris’s time by 3 seconds. Kris quickly responded taking the same out of Sebastien’s time to the delight of the crowd. Both drivers had been out with each other on the gravel stage at Goodwood, Sebastien was very impressed and has tipped Kris as a future world champion. High praise indeed for Colin’s protégé. The Vision gifted Sebastien with a very smart pair of Colin McRae driving shoes. Kris has several pairs and said they are amazingly comfortable. The Swiss based company Cype SA developed the footwear with Colin for both competition and fashion. The Vision is delighted to continue a close working and personal relationship created over the years with the company and its owners. Cype SA McRae products are marketed worldwide through Colin McRae Sport and will soon be available from our own on-line shop.

It was another successful outing for the Vision Roadshow, thanks to the many fans and friends that continue to support us so enthusiastically. Our thanks go in no small measure to the good people at the Goodwood Festival of Speed for allowing us to attend and all the assistance they provided. Also to Codemasters for the fantastic Colin McRae Dirt 2 game, all the enthusiastic support and manpower they provided over the weekend. Finally to D-Box for the ultimate in driving simulator seats. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Links:
http://www.krismeeke.com
http://www.sebastienloeb.com
http://www.codemasters.co.uk
http://www.d-box.com
http://www.goodwood.co.uk
http://www.colinMcRaesport.com

 

Scottish Old Skool Escorts Support The Vision

The Vision received an invitation to participate in the largest gathering of Ford Escorts in Scotland from Scottish Old Skool Escorts at Kames on Sunday 28th of June. We didn’t have to think twice about accepting and Jimmy was delighted to take Colin’s spectacular MK2 along to join 150 other Escorts on display. We also brought along the R4 for the large crowd of enthusiasts to look over. Jimmy agreed to take prizes winners of an auction which raised over £1,100 for a blast round the Kames circuit. By the look of the photographs he was holding nothing back.

As if the day wasn’t interesting enough Alistair had just arrived from Australia so Jimmy enlisted him and his son Max (who has just turned 5) to the McRae team. Alistair put on a fine display of sideways driving in the gravel tyred Ari Vatanen/Dave Richards MK2 Rothmans Escort much to the pleasure of an appreciative crowd. Max got a run with his Grandfather in the Escort and enjoyed every moment.

The day was a great success; everyone left with a big smile on their faces and the event raised a fantastic £3,500 for the Vision. On behalf of Jimmy, Alistair, Max and the Vision a big thanks goes to Martin Calvert and the team for organising such a spectacular event, and to the fans for their support and enormous generosity.

More information at: http://www.scottisholdskoolescorts.co.uk/

Rally Show Debut For Vision Roadshow

The Colin McRae Roadshow made its debut at this year’s Chatsworth Rally Show in what was arguably the wettest show in the events history. The recently completed mobile retail unit stocked with Colin McRae Sport clothing and popular footwear made a welcome shelter for the brave spectators. Fans enjoyed seeing action from some of the 14 DVD titles on sale featuring Colin right from the early days through to his amazing WRC career. It was a number of firsts for the Vision over the weekend, as the new mainstream Colin McRae Vision branded clothing went on sale. The range consists of Polo shirts, T-shirts, hats and jackets. With some items selling out on the first day, it looks like we have a winning collection. The umbrellas that will go on sale soon would have been the most popular item. They will be available in a few weeks, just in time for the height of the British summer. Visitors were treated to a preview of two newly commissioned Jim Bamber models of Colin’s Subaru Impreza and Ford Focus WRC cars. They will be available later in the year and will make ideal gifts for all McRae fans. New products will be added throughout the summer in time for the on-line shop opening later in the year.

The retail unit is only part of the roadshow. We intend to bring along one of Colin’s cars to each event and Chatsworth was no exception. Fans young and old enjoyed seeing the two times British Championship winning Legacy now fully restored to original condition. Everyone has their own special memories of this piece of rallying history and we all enjoyed hearing stories about McRae on maximum attack.

Even though the weather was against us, the crowds gathered on Saturday afternoon when Jimmy and Margaret McRae visited the stand. Jimmy was delighted to chat to fans, sign autographs and have a few photo calls. Other visitors on the day included MSport boss Malcolm Wilson and his wife Elaine. We missed an opportunity to sell Malcolm a pair of McRae shoes - but we’ll get you next time Malcolm! Sunday didn’t see any improvement in the weather with many of the stands packing up by mid morning, but we “boys” at the Vision are made of sterner stuff and stuck it out until the bitter end. Visitors on Sunday included Colin McRae Vision Charity Ambassador and IRC leader Kris Meeke along with co-driver Paul Nagle, fresh from a hat-trick of victories in Brazil, the Azores and Barbados. Kris and Paul were at Chatsworth on official Peugeot duty, entertaining the crowds out on the stage in the super 2000 car. Kris is a very enthusiastic ambassador for the Vision and recently spent time with the Hankook Scottish Rally Championship Juniors. Both Kris and Paul wear the Vision logo with pride on their racing suits and helmets and will feature in many of the Vision initiatives in the future.

All in all it was a good first outing for the new roadshow. We met lots of old friends and made lots of new ones. Our next adventure is at The Goodwood Festival of Speed at the beginning of July, when we will have lots more new products and guests at the show. Make sure you pop in and say hello. Thanks to the good people at Chatsworth for providing the space and to our many visitors and fans for their fantastic support.

Colin McRae Vision Display Unit

The Colin McRae Vision exhibition stand debuted at this year’s Knockhill Motorfair on 9th/10th May and also attended the Jim Clark Rally on 23rd May, where we were located in the traders area in the Border’s town of Duns.

The stand included a static display of Colin’s 1991/2 British Rally Championship winning Subaru Legacy and a selection of memorabilia including books, clothing, dvd’s and posters for sale.

The Legacy which was recently fully restored to pristine condition by Autosportif, proved to be a great crowd puller and many fans used the opportunity to have their pictures taken alongside this iconic car.

They were also keen to talk to us about Colin’s rallying history, memories of meeting him or times when they saw him in action behind the wheel.

There were also enquiries about whether the R4 would be on display at future events and we are delighted to confirm that this will indeed be the case. We will decide which of Colin’s cars we will take to each event on an individual basis and try to vary this as much as possible.

It was the first time much of the Colin McRae merchandise had bee on display and sale direct to the public and this was met with much interest and enthusiasm.

The merchandise got a lot of attention and items such as the caps and t-shirts proving very popular items with the fans.

The response has been overwhelming and gives us great encouragement for the future as the fans have shown that they want Colin’s legacy to be kept very much in the limelight.

Our attendance at these shows also enables members of the public to see and understand a bit more about the charity that has been set up, the Colin McRae Vision and we are keen to engage more with the public on this subject and will be issuing regular updates as to our fundraising and how the family wish these to be distributed to good causes.

In summary, we have been greatly encouraged by the reception we have received at these initial 2 events and plan to roll out our ‘Vision’ display unit at more motorsport events over the course of the summer to enable fans across the country to see Colin’s cars and buy his merchandise.

The provisional list of events we are intending to be present at is as undernoted.

Colin McRae Vision Roadshow – Provisional Dates 2009

• Motorfair - Knockhill - 9/10th May - more information
• Jim Clark Rally - Kelso/Duns - 22/23/24th May - more information
• The Rally Show - Chatsworth - 6/7th June - more information
• Northern Big One - Lightwater Valley - 28th June - more information
• Festival of Speed - Goodwood - 3/4/5th July - more information
• Classic Speedfair - Knockhill - 19th July - more information
• McRae Gathering cheque presentation - Chester - 9th August - more information
• Touring Cars - Knockhill - 15/16th August - more information
• Rallyday - Castle Combe - 19th September - more information
• Colin McRae Forest Stages - Perth - 2/3rd October - more information
• Rally of Scotland – Stirling - 19/20/21st November - more information

 

Colin McRae Vision

The Colin McRae Vision Charity will be much in evidence at Motorsport Events throughout 2009. The ‘Vision’ display stand will be present at high profile events such as the Rally Show at Chatsworth, Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Rallyday at Castle Combe to name but a few.

We will have unique ‘Colin McRae’ merchandise available for purchase, including branded clothing, books, DVD’s and various other memorabilia.

We also hope to have some gaming units on site, where you can test your skills on the Colin McRae ‘DIRT’ game with ‘money can’t buy prizes’ on offer to the winners.

At each event we will also be bringing along at least one of the cars from the family collection of the vehicles Colin used during his illustrious career. At selected events these cars will not only be on static display but will be demonstrated ‘on track’ by Jimmy McRae.

Throughout all this activity, we will not allow ourselves to lose sight of the objective of raising money to benefit charitable causes for children, funding road safety initiatives for young drivers and encouraging grass roots participation in motorsport.

Full details of the venues and dates where the ‘Vision’ will be in attendance, will be posted on the website as soon as the list is finalised.