The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Seems like old times: McRae

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 18, 2004

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Sport - Racing : Motor

Seems like old times: McRae

By Stan Rayan

KOCHI, JUNE 17. A few years ago, Jimmy McRae took a long break from a thriving rallying career to look after his sons' budding motorsport life. His eldest son, Colin, went on to win the World Rally Championship, while another son, Alister, was among the big guns on the international circuit. And McRae Motorsport was one of the most respected teams in the world circuit.

Jimmy, a former five-time British champion, returned to the international circuit late last year after a seven-year hiatus. And the old fox proved that he has not forgotten any of his old tricks.

The 60-year-old Jimmy, from Scotland, now leads the London-Sydney Marathon (LSM) which is now near Kochi for the Indian leg. The 15,000-km inter-continental event will reach the halfway mark with the Indian leg, which will be flagged off from the Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery, on Friday morning.

Does his World Champion son give him any tips these days? "He tells me what I've told him," said Jimmy, on Thursday afternoon, as he took a short break at the Hotel Abad, near the Cochin Airport.

"The rally scene was a lot of fun in our time. Now it has changed a lot," said Jimmy, an engineer. "The World Championship has stopped looking good now. There are too many changes. And it's wrong to change from three-car teams to the current two-car teams. You see the same old faces. It's tough for the youngsters who want to break into the circuit," said Jimmy, who now trains Kris Meeke, a promising driver on the World junior circuit.

"This London-Sydney Marathon is more like the old times. This is fun," said Jimmy who has compatriot Bruce Lyle as his co-driver. Jimmy is a part of a three-car team of Toyota RunX prepared by Toyota South Africa. The LSM is Jimmy's first long-distance event.

However, things have not been easy for Jimmy in the LSM. New Zealander Joe McAndrew, in his Honda Integra, has been giving the veteran hot chase despite going off the road once early in the marathon.

"I'd like to leave India still leading. The Hondas are more powerful," said the old star, who enjoys a 48-second lead over Joe McAndrew after the special stages, totalling 400 km, gone through so far.

The 1,200-km Indian leg will have 150km of special stages, with the first coming up near Munnar.

More than the pressure of the competition, it's nice to travel places, visit people and learn more about the different culture. "India sure is a lovely country," he concluded.

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