Posted on December 8, 2010.
Farewell to Colin McRae Rally Hero Wednesday, September 26 October 2007, almost 200 mourners gathered to give the last farewell to former World Rally Champion Colin McRae and his five year old son, Johnny, who died in a helicopter crash Last Sept. 15, and whose bodies lie in the same coffin, in a private service held at Daldowie Crematorium, near Glasgow.
The service was attended by family members and friends, as Formula 1 racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart and IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti.
The Scottish driver began his rally career in 1986 and ran his first World Rally Championship in the 1987 Swedish Rally. He won his first WRC in 1993 driving a Subaru Legacy in the Rally New Zealand. In his career, he ran 146 world rallies, winning 25 of them and finishing on the podium 42 times. He retired from 2006, when he would return to sport.
McRae, 39, died in Jerviswood, Lanarkshire, half a mile from the family home when the helicopter he was piloting, crashed and caught fire. Besides his son Johnny, the helicopter was also his friend six year old son, Ben Porcelli and family friend Graeme Duncan, 37, who also died in the plane crash.
McRae passing away has shocked the world of motor racing as he was a legend and a hero to many people. He was well liked and respected in the UK, and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1996.
In tribute, his former teammate in the Nations Cup section of the annual race of champions, David Coulthard, who had to compete with him again at Wembley in December, will wear a helmet designed like McRae at the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Japan Grand This Sunday, September 30. Coulthard has asked permission from the family of Colin to do so and said that ". I'll ask other drivers to sign it and return it to the family as a souvenir "
