Jimmy McRae (born 28 October 1943) is a British former

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...

driver. He was highly successful in the

British Rally Championship The British Rally Championship is a rallying series based in the United Kingdom. The first championship was run in 1958 and it has been licensed by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) since 1999. MSA has opted not to run the series in 2015, ins ...

, winning the title a record five times in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1988 which as of 2020 still stands. In the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship has b ...

for drivers, he was runner-up in 1982, while his highest placing in the World Rally Championship was fifteenth in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. McRae runs a

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water deliv ...

business in his home town of

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

. He and his wife Margaret had three sons, Colin, Alister and Stuart. Both Colin and

Alister McRae Alister McRae (born 20 December 1970) is a British rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship. He is the son of the five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and the younger brother of the late 1995 World Rally Champion, ...

were

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

drivers, with Colin winning the world championship in 1995. McRae's brother-in-law Hugh "Shug" Steele is also a former rally driver.

Career

Jimmy began his motorsport career riding motorcycles and he competed in some motorcycle races. 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. Jimmy McRae - 2008 Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally

Jimmy McRae - 2008 Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally

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 The Opel Manta is a rear-wheel-drive sports coupé built by German manufacturer Opel in two generations from 1970 to 1988. The Manta was a mildly sporting coupé based on the Ascona family car, akin to the Ford Falcon-based Mustang and its vario ...

. During his time at ''Rothmans'', his teammates were

Ari Vatanen Ari Pieti Uolevi Vatanen (; born 27 April 1952) is a Finnish rally driver turned politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009. Vatanen won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1981 and the Paris Dakar Rall ...

Walter Röhrl Walter Röhrl (; born 7 March 1947) is a German rally and auto racing driver, with victories for Fiat, Opel, Lancia and Audi as well as Porsche, Ford and BMW. Röhrl has scored 14 victories over his career, with his notable achievements includin ...

and

Henri Toivonen Henri Pauli Toivonen (25 August 1956 – 2 May 1986) was a Finnish rally driver born in Jyväskylä, the home of Rally Finland. His father, Pauli, was the 1968 European Rally Champion for Porsche and his brother, Harri, became a profess ...

. He then progressed to the MG Metro 6R4. Though mostly retired from motorsport now, McRae still occasionally competes on historic rallies and some

Scottish Rally Championship The Scottish Rally Championship is a rallying series run throughout Scotland over the course of a year, that comprises both gravel and closed surface rallies.http://www.scottishrallychampionship.co.uk/ SRC Homepage Points are awarded to the top ...

events, with some occasional outings on the

Wales Rally GB Wales Rally GB was the most recent iteration of the United Kingdom's premier international motor rally, which ran under various names since the first event held in 1932. It was consistently a round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calen ...

. In 2006 he won the Roger Albert Clark Rally in a Stobart Motorsport sponsored Mark 2 Ford Escort. In September 2008, McRae was one of a number of ex-world and British champions to take part in the ''Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally'' in memory of his son, who died in 2007. He drove a Porsche 911 on the rally. The impressive entry list included ex-World Championship drivers

Hannu Mikkola Hannu Olavi Mikkola (24 May 1942 − 25 February 2021) was a Finnish champion world rally driver. He was a seven-time winner of the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland and won the RAC Rally in Great Britain four times. Career Mikkola's rally career ...

Björn Waldegård Björn Waldegård (12 November 1943 – 29 August 2014) was a Swedish rally driver, and the winner of the inaugural World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979. His Swedish nickname was "Walle". Career Waldegård, who came from Rimbo, had a ca ...

Stig Blomqvist Stig Lennart Blomqvist (born 29 July 1946) is a retired Swedish rally driver. He made his international breakthrough in 1971. Driving an Audi Quattro for the Audi factory team, Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship drivers' title in 1984 an ...

, Malcolm Wilson,

Russell Brookes Russell Brookes (16 August 1945 – 30 October 2019) was a British rally driver. He won the British Rally Championship with a Ford Escort RS1800 in 1977 and with an Opel Manta 400 in 1985. In 1978, he won the Rally New Zealand, a round of the F ...

Andrew Cowan Andrew Cowan (13 December 1936 – 15 October 2019) was a Scottish rally driver, and the founder and senior director of Mitsubishi Ralliart until his retirement on 30 November 2005. Early years Cowan was raised in Duns, a small town in the ...

and

Louise Aitken-Walker Louise Aitken-Walker MBE (born January 1960 in Duns, Berwickshire) is a British rally and saloon car racing driver. Aitken-Walker entered competition in 1979 and finished 19th in her first Rally GB two years later. She contested the 1989 Britis ...

. McRae took part in the 2014 British Historic Championship in a Firenza Can Am finishing fourth. He also took part in the 2014 Wales Rally GB for the first time in ten years.

Racing record

Complete WRC results

Complete British Touring Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap in class) ‡ Endurance driver (ineligible for points).

References

External links

Rallybase Data page
{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Jimmy 1943 births Living people Scottish rally drivers Scottish Rally Championship World Rally Championship drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers Sportspeople from Lanark Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers