The 1995 world champion had recently manifested a desire to return to full-time WRC competition. (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos
The police has confirmed the identity of the victims in the helicopter crash involving former World Rally Champion Colin McRae near the Scot's own estate in the UK on Friday afternoon. Besides the 39-year-old rally star, his five-year-old son Johnny and two family friends, 27-year-old Graeme Duncan and six-year-old Ben Porcelli, have also been killed.
McRae's helicopter came down in Jerviswood, Lanarkshire, half a mile from the family's home and burst into flames just after 4 p.m. on Friday.
Jean-Eric Freudiger, McRae's agent, confirmed to London's The Times that the 39-year-old driver had been piloting the helicopter himself. McRae is survived by wife Alison and their daughter Hollie, 9.
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An aggressive driver whose flamboyant style had earned him fans worldwide, McRae won the 1995 world rally title driving for Subaru. Despite clinching that crown a single time, the Scot was one of the winningest drivers in the sport's history with 25 event wins. He had been out of a full-time WRC ride since the end of the '03 season, but remained active as a driver in a series of one-offs and guest appearances ranging from the X-Games' rallying competition to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to the WRC itself, where he was drafted by Skoda for two events in '05 and replaced and injured Sebastien Loeb for one round last year.
Recently, McRae had revealed he was working on a deal to return to full-time WRC competition next year.
