Interview with Colin McRae

Q: Now the first question has to be, why the hell are you not in the WRC?

McRae: "Well, unfortunately there's very limited opportunity at the moment. I've had talks, but at the end of the day it's all down to finance."

Q: And you achieved pretty much everything there was to achieve in the 1990s. Do you still have the same desire to win rallies and championships that you had back then?

McRae: "Yeah, I mean if the opportunity was there to go back at the top level, then I'd give it a very, very serious consideration. I think I still got a bit of speed left in me, so it would be nice to get out there in the right car and the right team."

Q: You replaced Sebastien Loeb in the Citroen in Turkey. You must have thought that this was possibly an opening to something full-time?

McRae: "Not full-time, but... You know, Turkey was always going to be a tough event, but we were really looking forward to Australia, which was supposed to happen and unfortunately we lost the sponsorship around Turkey, and they just couldn't afford to run another car.

"Also, by that point the championship was really over with. And, again, unfortunately it was a budgetary thing than anything else, but it would have been nice to do Australia and to continue for the rest of the year if possible. But that didn't happen."

Q: Are you actively talking to people about to 2007?

McRae: "No, not at the moment, all the seats are full, unfortunately. There's a lot of drivers out there, everybody's under contract, so unless you come along with a very large amount of money, you won't get a car."

Q: Let me take you back to the early 90s, when you burst on to the WRC and really raised the profile of the sport - single-handedly, I would suggest. Some fond memories of those times?

McRae: "For me, you don't really... you're not aware of what you're doing at the time, and it's not until you actually stop and look back over your career that you really take notes of what you've achieved, and all the highs and the lows.

"And for sure, mid-90s, not just because I won the championship then, for me definitely that was the best point of my career. Mid 90s to 2000 is when it was all really happening."

Q: When you came into the WRC, it has been a long time since a British driver had won a round. Did you believe at that point that you would become the first Briton to win a world rally since the 70s?

McRae: "I didn't set goals as I went along, I just wanted to be quick as possible and win as much as possible. I didn't look at the past, I didn't look at the history, I didn't look at how many rallies other people had won - you just go and win as many rallies as you can."

Q: And of course the Colin McRae-Subaru tie-up was one of the strongest in motorsport. You put Subaru on the map. What do you remember about those times in the mid-90s?

McRae: "Every driver needs a break in their career, and my break came in the early 90s, with David Richards offering a British championship drive with the Legacy, which at the time was a new car. A very quick car.

"And I knew it was very, very exciting times, to get a full factory drive with a team that was competing in the WRC as well. So I think everybody needs their break - and that's when I got my break."

Q: And of course, the McRae-Subaru tie-up spawned the computer games, which took off in a very big way, didn't it?

McRae: "Yeah. Again, it was something that I didn't really know anything about when I got involved in it, back in the early nineties, and it's been great, it's been very successful - and probably one of the single things that increased my popularity and notoriety more than anything."

Q: Are you working on another game?

McRae: "Yes, we've got a new game coming out next year, which will be a total revamp of the game, basically a new game completely, and there's a lot of exciting stuff in there.

Q: What are your thoughts of WRC as it stands at the moment? What sort of state is the championship in, do you think?

McRae: "I think it's definitely in a bit of a low at the moment, but these things go in cycles. If you look back at the Group B days of rally - there were probably only two cars or three drivers that could have won at any one time, and I think that during the nineties it really increased with quality and quantity of drivers.

"Now it's dropped again for reasons everybody knows. But it will come back, for sure it will come back, and I'm just looking forward to that day."

Q: You replaced Sebastien Loeb in Citroen, in Turkey. He's a remarkable young man who is slowly breaking all the records - some of which you set yourself. Is he the greatest driver the WRC has ever seen?

McRae: "Yeah, for sure, there's no argument; Seb ranks up there as one of the all-time greats, very consistent but very fast as well. Very clever driver. And he'll go on to win a lot more rallies, so all the records are going to be blown out of the water completely with Sebastien. So yes, absolutely."

Q: He seems to be somebody who can win comfortably on gravel and asphalt, something that you too did. How are you able to do so well on such different surfaces? Historically, a driver was either a gravel man, or an asphalt man

McRae: "I think in the past there's always been gravel experts or asphalt experts. But these drivers never did the whole season consistently, and I think in recent years the drivers have done every rally in the championship, so you just gain the experience, you get the confidence, and the the top drivers will always shine on any surface.

"In the past, in the Group B, the manufacturers tended to pick drivers for certain events, and I think that's why you ended up with the tarmac and the gravel experts."

Q: Some of the other things you turned your hand to in the past, Le Mans specifically, any plans to have another go?

McRae: "I would love to; it was a great event, it was a huge challenge, one of the toughest things that I've ever done. Great team, great teammates - they really dragged me along. So I would love to do it again, yeah."

Q: The Dakar Rally must have been equally as challenging, for very different reasons. I think you did it two or three times. What are you memories of that amazing marathon?

McRae: "Again, one of the events. When I stopped full-time WRC, Dakar and Le Mans were two events that I targeted, that I really wanted to do. I would love to go back to Dakar and try and win the event.

"It's a huge adventure, mixed in with a competition. It's a very difficult thing to describe, there's just nothing like that. I would love to go back again. It's one of these events that you either really hate it or love it. And it was a great experience and I'd really love to go back.

Q: Are you keeping track of your old mates, with Carlos Sainz running up at the front for VW?

McRae: "Yeah. I think combining WRC experience is the best way to go and the most competitive."

Q: Was Carlos Sainz the toughest teammate you ever had? Was he the toughest opponent in your career?

McRae: "No, I wouldn't say the toughest. I was very, very lucky to work with Carlos for many years, and he taught me an awful lot, and generally we get on very well together. If we look at the number of years we worked together and what we achieved, then this is a very impressive partnership."

Q: The Race of Champions is coming to Wembley this year. Are you hoping to do it?

McRae: "Absolutely. I've competed in the Race of Champions for many years, so the chance to compete in Wembley will be tremendous, I'm really looking forward to it. The atmosphere in the stadium is great."