Rally Ace McRae Killed In Helicopter Crash

Police have confirmed that British rally driver Colin McRae has been killed after his helicopter crashed on Saturday (15Sept07).

McRae's five-year-old son and two friends were also aboard the flight - piloted by the racing driver - which ran into difficulties due to bad weather a mile north of his Lanark, Scotland home, and crashed before bursting into flames. All four passengers were killed in the accident.

Thirty-nine-year-old McRae was the first British World Rally Champion and notched up more than 25 World Championship wins in a career spanning more than 20 years. He also inspired one of the world's best selling rally driving computer games, Colin McRae Rally.

McRae is survived by wife Alison and daughter Hollie.

Colin McRae, aged 39, will be remembered as one of Britain's greatest rally drivers.

The Scot won the world title for Subaru in 1995, was runner-up on three occasions, and for a while held the record for most wins in individual rallies with 25 - a mark that has since been passed by Spain's Carlos Sainz and Frenchman Sebastien Loeb, both former team-mates of McRae.

McRae was a true character in the world of rallying and will be sadly missed - words that he used to pay tribute to fellow driver Richard Burns following his death from a brain tumour in 2005