McRae a true 'legend', says Richards

McRae won the world title for Richards' Prodrive team in 1995 and, although he left the outfit at the end of 1998, the pair have remained close friends ever since.

Speaking to autosport.com at the Belgian Grand Prix, just a day after it was announced that McRae was believed to have been killed in a helicopter crash, Richards said he was devastated by the news.

"I was chatting to him during the course of this week," said Richards. "It is extraordinary and it is still hard to take in. Ari Vatanen called me as I was flying across here to tell me. It is still hard to believe."

When asked how he believed McRae will be remembered, Richards said: "There are few people in life I would ever call a legend, but for me Colin was one of those people. He was just so competitive, and so extreme in everything he did. And yet also great fun. He matured over the years to be a great pal."

And Richards could not help but see the irony in the fact that McRae escaped several big crashes in rallying without serious injury, only to lose his life in a helicopter accident.

"I have got lots of great memories of him," said Richards. "Especially in the old days, when we were rallying together when he started off in the team. I still have got a couple of his cars back in Banbury.

"There was never a minute when he didn't try 100 percent and, of course, we had lots of accidents. And it is with great irony that, with all the accidents he had in rally cars that he walked away from unscathed, this happens in a helicopter."

Scottish police issued a statement on Saturday night saying they believed McRae had been killed in a helicopter crash near his house. Formal identification of the crash victims has not yet taken place.