Jimmy McRae
McRae on a stage rally in Scotland. April 1993
|
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |
 British
|
| Born |
28 October 1943 Lanark, Scotland |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1976–1989 |
| Teams | Vauxhall, Opel, Austin Rover |
| Rallies | 25 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 2 |
| Stage wins | 15 |
| Total points | 56 |
| First rally | 1976 RAC Rally |
| Last rally | 2015 Wales Rally GB |
Jimmy McRae (born 28 October 1943) is a British rally driver. He was highly successful in the British Rally Championship, winning the title five times in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1988. In the European Rally Championship for drivers, he was runner-up in 1982, while his highest placing in the World Rally Championship was fifteenth in 1983. Aside from his rallying career, McRae has maintained and run a very busy plumbing business in his home town of Lanark. Jimmy and his wife Margaret had three sons, Colin, Alister and Stuart. He is the father of World Rally Championship driver Alister McRae, and the late 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae.
He started his rallying at the age of 31 driving his own Mk1 Cortina fitted with Lotus running gear followed by an Escort Mk1 twin cam. The following year he approached SMT and drove a Group 1 Vauxhall Magnum for them culminating in a works drive the following year in a DTV Gp 1 Magnum. In 1978 he was promoted to the full DTV team and drove a Group 4 Vauxhall Chevette HS then HSR in the British Rally Championship alongside a single cam Chevette in the Castrol Autosport Series, narrowly missing out on the title to Malcolm Wilson.
Throughout his career, McRae drove for a number of different teams, including Vauxhall, Opel & Ford reaching a pinnacle during his spell in the Rothmans Rally Team, driving an Opel Manta 400. During his time at Rothmans, his team mates were Ari Vatanen, Walter Röhrl and Henri Toivonen. He then progressed to the venerable MG Metro 6R4.
...
Wikipedia