Colin McRae, winner of 25 World Rally Championships and star of video game franchises, was killed in a helicopter crash Saturday along with his 5-year-old son, 6-year-old Ben Porcelli and 37-year-old Graeme Duncan. The 39 year old McRae was piloting said helicopter which he owned and was licensed to fly, when it crashed into a wooded area near his home in Scotland. According to police, the aircraft was badly burned, making it impossible for officials to immediately identify the occupants.McRae’s career spans the World Rally Championship from 1987 until 2004, the Paris to Dakar rally, the Le Mans 24 hour race, the Race of Champions and the X Games. McRae’s success on the rally circuit led to a computer game “Colin McRae Rally,” first released in 1998, which is now found on PlayStation, Game Boy, Xbox and PSP platforms - and most recently DiRT for the PC, PS3, and Xbxo 30.
“He was really daring, always pushing it further,” Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen said. “I always liked his attitude. It was maximum attack always and he had some big rolls sometimes. Every time he had one, though it was like: ‘Oh well, it’s just a roll,’ and he just carried on.”
McRae received an MBE award in 1996 from Queen Elizabeth II. He was married and also has a daughter.
The staff at Gaming Today would like everyone to please keep Colin’s family and the families of Graeme Duncan and Ben Porcelli in your thoughts and prayers as they go through the trying times ahead. It will be hard enough to deal with the loss of Colin and Graeme, but even more difficult due to the fact that young children were involved.
AP
Colin McRae, 1968 – 2007
Everyone at Codemasters, especially those who worked directly with Colin McRae, is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic events of this weekend.
The loss of Colin McRae is deeply distressing. That it involved his son and another so young makes it even more tragic. Our thoughts are with his family and those closest to him and we share in their pain.
For over ten years, Colin was part of the Codemasters family and it was a privilege to have a man recognised as a true legend on the team. He always took a keen interest in the game experience, wanting to make sure it was without equal in its portrayal of the sport.
His contribution was inspirational and brought his technical expertise and passion for rally driving to each and every McRae game. Through the popularity of those games, he brought a whole new audience to the sport itself.
Codemasters’ relationship with Colin began through Jim, David and Richard Darling and their condolences, along with ours, are passed to Colin’s family. We are heavy of heart at his passing but we are also brimming with pride at knowing him and to have played a small role in his life.
He will never be forgotten by all at Codemasters.
The Colin McRae series of video games:
Developed and published by Codemasters in partnership with Colin McRae, the McRae games now form a 9 million+ selling series. The first game, Colin McRae Rally, was published in the summer of 1998 for the PlayStation and PC. It became an international best-seller and set a benchmark for rally video games that only its sequels could better. Colin McRae Rally 2.0, for the PlayStation and PC, followed in 2000, with Colin McRae Rally 3, for the PlayStation 2 and PC, in 2002.
With Colin’s input, the series continued to evolve with an ever growing variety of car makes and classes, stages and countries featured through the games of 2003 and 2004, Colin McRae Rally 04 and Colin McRae Rally 2005 respectively (PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC).
Most recently, the series diversified further, mirroring Colin’s own participation in a broader range of motor sports, with year’s title: Colin McRae: DiRT. Published in June for the Xbox 360 and PC, and most recently for the PlayStation 3, Colin McRae: DiRT has players competing in off-road races on gravel, mud and dirt tracks all over the world. www.codemasters.co.uk
Colin McRae’s website – www.colinmcrae.com – is now hosting Messages of Condolence http://www.colinmcrae.com/condolences.asp