I’ve seen Knockhill through almost every lens over the years.
As a child I wandered its paddock in awe at the British Touring Car Championship’s setup and witnessed Vauxhall Vectras and Seat Toledos stuff it in the wall at McIntyre. I’d been in the paddock during quieter club meets as an aspiring young journo, perched in the comms tower. And I’ve driven the rally roads behind the circuit hairpin in a Ford Fiesta rally car.
I’d been to circuit rallies at Knockhill before. Heading to the International McRae Rally Challenge, I expected much of the same as I’d experienced in the past.
That was, frankly, very naïve of me. Of course it wasn’t going to be like the Knockhill Stages – the McRaes were in town. And it was about more than times going on the board at finish controls: it was a celebration of rallying’s greatest icon.
Somewhere in the main paddock was Dom Buckley’s lineup of Rally2 machinery. This would, ordinarily, be the focal point of such an event: Max McRae’s Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, sat plum center of its servicing setup, was topping every timesheet on the opening day. But on returning to the service park, it was often hard to see him.
The sea of people wandering the paddock were near-universally a single color: blue, with a dash of yellow. Wearing my DirtFish uniform almost seemed like an error: there was no better time to press my Subaru World Rally Team fleece into service again than today. Looking in any direction was a visual reminder of why Knockhill was buzzing with activity. It was down to one person who sadly wasn’t here: Colin.
Said blue mass swirled around Knockhill’s circuit office more than anywhere else, for across the asphalt stood the stars of the show. From left to right, the reasons for the crowd became increasingly apparent. A red Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX was adorned with a special name on the rear-right window: Chris Hoy, the six-time Olympic champion cyclist. Next door was BGMSport, running L555 REP; Alister McRae was at the wheel as the zero car.
Trying to fight your way to the front was a near-impossible task from this point on: everyone wanted a look at the Chevy Firenza given Dario Franchitti was driving it. And, finally, car number one, a Ford Escort Mk2 with Stobart stickers. Jimmy McRae was in the drivers’ seat – and Colin’s daughter Hollie was navigating. It was easy in the masses to miss 1984 World Rally champion Stig Blomqvist round the corner with an Austin Mini Cooper, too.
The list of rallying legends in attendance at the weekend was endless
What really demonstrated the lasting impact of Colin, I think, were the high-profile figures who showed up not to compete but simply consume the event, or maybe just make a quick appearance on the stage or do a demo lap. A week on from seeing him in Chile, there was Petter Solberg again, making the journey to Knockhill for his love of the sport and to be part of the tribute to the driver who mentored him during his early WRC days at Ford. David Richards and Hugh Chambers, key figures of Subaru’s WRC success and now the leading force at Motorsport UK, naturally showed up. But so too did three-time Le Mans winner Allan McNish, a driver who’d been ascending the ranks at the same time as Colin.
Circuit rallying often gets a bit of ribbing from the stage rally community, like it’s the poorer cousin. Yes, calling the main stage where interviews were held the ‘Ouninpohja’ stage doesn’t suddenly transform the roads into an incredible rollercoaster ride (though Duffus Dip fits into that category, stress on the word ‘dip’). But, really, the McRae Rally Challenge being a single-venue circuit event makes lots of sense. Max swapping from the Škoda to his uncle’s Focus WRC to serve up some donuts to the main grandstand is the point. It was a show. And Colin always was the show, wherever he went.
Max’s efforts when back in the Fabia were for more than just show in the end. He won the competitive element of the rally by half a minute. It was his first ever outright rally win.
Max McRae (right) fittingly grabbed his first ever outright rally win
Further down the timesheets, there was another McRae first. Hollie had completed her first competitive event in the co-driver’s seat – and loved it.
Family patriarch Jimmy has a feeling that, finally, Colin’s daughter might have caught the rallying bug.
“I think she’s getting quite keen on it,” he said. “That’s another one to worry about!”
You can look at something a hundred times and still see it in an entirely new way on the 101st glance. Rallying is ever-changing. There’s always a new perspective to be found. But one thing seems destined to never change: the love for Colin McRae and what he did for rallying’s story.
