‘We lost him before he really got much of an idea of what my life would turn out to be like.’
Hollie McRae was just eight years old when her father, the legendary rally driver Colin, died in 2007.
The Scot was piloting a helicopter when it came down at high speed, killing him, his five-year-old son Johnny, six-year-old family friend Ben Porcelli and 37-year-old Graeme Duncan.
There really is no answer to how any family moves on from such a tragedy. They either do, or they don’t.
For Holly, she recalls that her family stepped back from motorsport for a while, being around that world was just too painful, especially for her grieving mother, Alison.
Yet, 18 years later, perhaps it is no surprise that the lure of the road has proved too strong to resist for those with the McRae name.
Indeed, it is again very much a family affair behind the wheel, with Hollie joining her grandfather Jimmy and cousin Max on the track.
‘It wasn’t anything I felt that I needed to do,’ Hollie tells Daily Mail Sport after her competition debut as co-driver for Jimmy at the International McRae Rally Challenge at Knockhill last month.
‘After we did lost Dad and Johnny, we sort of stepped back from motorsport because it was too painful and raw, particularly for my mum.
‘I didn’t really take in a lot of what happened at those times. But for so many years, I wasn’t involved in the sport, absolutely whatsoever.
‘So I never really assumed that I would ever go into it as a career.
‘And it all just sort of happened by accident. I went down the teaching route and was going to be a schoolteacher in Glasgow.
‘But, yeah, it’s really just great to be involved in the sport now in my own way. And it didn’t feel like it needed to happen out of necessity. I didn’t feel pushed, but I sort of found my own way back, so I can’t really complain.’
Jimmy McRae was joined by his granddaughter Hollie, Colin’s daughter, for the rally
It was Hollie’s first time competing as she acted as co-driver for her 81-year-old grandpa
Hollie’s cousin Max (centre) fittingly won the International McRae Rally Challenge
Max McRae is dripping with champagne as he strides confidently off the podium at Knockhill.
The 21-year-old driver, nephew of the late Colin, has just won the International McRae Rally Challenge. Surrounded by friends and family, he is, he tells me, delighted to honour one of the best drivers the rally world has ever seen.
Over the course of a weekend, a host of famous names have joined him: the likes of Indy car supremo Dario Franchitti, Sir Chris Hoy, and Petter Solberg have all taken part.
Colin’s father, Jimmy, is himself a huge name in the world of British motorsport, and instrumental in garnering support for this event.
He finishes fourth in his class, with Hollie in the seat beside him.
‘This boy’s got a big step to take in front of him,’ says Jimmy of Max, whose dad Alister was also a British champion. ‘No pressure.’
Max would love to be world champion, to emulate the achievements of his uncle, who became the youngest ever world champion, at the age of 27.
At the moment, however, it’s all about finding his feet in the ERC1 and the British Championship, where he is currently competing.
‘There’s a quote on my old helmet, which says: “If in doubt, flat out,”,’ Max says after his win.
‘I also have a tattoo on my ribcage, which says: “You’re here for a good time, not a long time”, which is what Colin would say. It made sense for me to have that.
‘It’s 30 years since my dad Alister won the British Championship, 30 years since Colin won the World Championship, 50 years of rallying for my grandad. So to win at this event is very cool. It has been a really special weekend.’
And what about cousin Hollie – how did she enjoy her first taste of action?
‘The event was absolutely incredible. It exceeded my expectations in every way possible.
‘I knew that I was going to have a brilliant weekend, sitting alongside my grandpa doing my first ever rally, but I didn’t quite know how much I would enjoy the actual co-driving, and it was incredible. So, yeah, absolutely top weekend of the year, I’d say.
‘It was my grandpa’s idea to get me involved, and I think for the last few years, he’s been cursing trying to find sponsorship for Max, so he’s now got a second grandchild to worry about!
‘Taking up driving is a question that I get asked more and more as time goes on, and this weekend, I think because I’ve finally made the step into competition, it’s now the next expected thing.
‘I have my rally licence for the year, and I’ve told myself I will use it before the year’s out, so we’ll see.’
Colin McRae won the World Rally Championship before his tragic death 18 years ago
Earlier in the year, before the events at Knockhill, and Jimmy is at his home in Lanark.
Max is in between drives, and we’re all holed up in a room filled with trophies, photographs, and racing paraphernalia.
The rally at Knockhill is still in its planning stages, but there’s already a buzz about the event.
Jimmy was a five-time British Rally Champion in his own right… what made him stop competing?
‘The moment I started getting beaten by my son, Colin,’ grins the 81-year-old.
‘I decided then that I would manage him rather than keep going myself.
‘Colin was up and coming and Alister, my other son, had started out as well, so I decided that I would step back and manage them.’
So did he know immediately that Colin had a special gift behind the wheel?
‘More or less, yes. His first rally, he finished 11th. Then, you know, he got a Talbot Sunbeam. And he was very quick with that. I actually had a drive with him in one rally, the first rally he did with the Vauxhall Nova. And you know sitting beside somebody, if they’ve got the talent or not. It was the same feeling as I got from Max. Scary.
‘I’m a bad passenger. I would never sit in the passenger seat in a rally car. I don’t know how co-drivers do it.
‘You know right away if somebody’s got the talent. You know, they’ve got the brain and everything’s working properly.’
Colin’s passing, of course, still lingers. Sitting in Jimmy’s office, it’s impossible to imagine the pain whenever Colin’s name is mentioned.
‘I’ll never forget him winning the world championship, the last round of the RAC Rally,’ says Jimmy.
‘It was very special. When Colin started rallying, that was his ambition, to be a champion.
‘There are still people who find him their favourite, you know? You go to events and there are still kids there with Colin’s t-shirt on. It makes you very, very proud.’
Can Jimmy ever see it happening again, though? A Scot becoming world champion?
‘It would be the icing on the cake,’ he says.
‘That’s the plan, isn’t it? To try and make it happen.
‘A lot of people say that Max has the speed of Colin, but he’s got the brains of his Dad and his Grandad.’
Hollie must now decide if her future does lie in rally driving like her late father
The legacy of the McRaes now firmly rests with both Max and Hollie. Who knows what the future holds for them.
For 26-year-old Hollie, she can’t help but think what her dad would think of her being behind the wheel…
‘He’d be over the moon. He’d be absolutely over the moon. I think to see me in a rally car would be something really special. Obviously, we lost him before he really got much of an idea of what my life would turn out to be like. But I hope that every day I make him proud of what I do, and I’m sure that today he would have had a massive smile on his face.’
