Mcrae to race in LM & LMES with Care Racing?!?

SALEEN S7R · 2 Jan 2004, 21:06 (Ref:825941)

Just found this article on Autosport.com http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=25624&s=13 Now this would be very good news for sportscar racing - big names like Mcrae dont race in sportscars every day, what is more signifcant though is the fact he appears to be choosing a GTS car over a LMP car, with team mates like Enge and Kox if Mcrae joins the Care Racing squad cars should be VERY strong this year.

rdjones · 2 Jan 2004, 21:13 (Ref:825949)

I saw that in Autosport yesterday. The story about Colin going sportscar racing has been around for a while. If he ends up in a Ferrari with Care/Prodrive then it will be great. At the end of day if he ends up driving at Le Mans you never know we get some proper TV coverage here in the UK...........

73_Gstock · 2 Jan 2004, 21:16 (Ref:825955)

Is he going to need a co-driver yelling instructions?

Good to see that Colin has somewhere to go next year.

SALEEN S7R · 2 Jan 2004, 21:22 (Ref:825963)

Quote:

Originally posted by rdjones
I saw that in Autosport yesterday. The story about Colin going sportscar racing has been around for a while.

Oh yeah I know that - what I didnt know though is which team he was most likely to join, didnt know he was thinking of contesting the LMES too either until today..

Nordic · 2 Jan 2004, 21:24 (Ref:825965)

Ferrari this year, aston driver next!
I just hope they have enough spares.

rdjones · 2 Jan 2004, 21:43 (Ref:825981)

Quote:

Originally posted by Nordic
Ferrari this year, aston driver next!
I just hope they have enough spares.

Lets hope so, he has got better over the last few years. I see he hasn't crashed the Nissan on the Prais/Daker yet...........

Fab · 3 Jan 2004, 08:54 (Ref:826297)

Just one thing : what if LM become the meeting point of the best pilots of other categories (Mc Rae, Villeneuve, and so on !) ?

I think it's still THE race to win once in a pilot life...

vinnie · 3 Jan 2004, 11:45 (Ref:826396)

Last year collin also did a practice session in a nescar car. He drove in england at an oval track. The lap times were great. I hope that he cares about the care car!!!!!!!!

rdjones · 3 Jan 2004, 16:32 (Ref:826596)

In the past he has raced in the BTCC, where he had a bit of a coming together with one Matt Neal. He also raced ASCAR at Rockingham, during one of the Champ Car Race a couple of years. He also tested a Porsche 911 at Oulton Park at the back end of last year.

GeorgeA · 3 Jan 2004, 17:42 (Ref:826631)

Those will be some spectacular wrecks that ol' Colin will get himself into, I predict. Since he won't be able to blame Nicky/Derek, the post-crash interviews will be most interesting. Like Nordic said, hope they have lots of spares.

BillandLara · 3 Jan 2004, 23:40 (Ref:826921)

With tongue firmly in cheek, I do hope Colin does race at L M. At least we shall see how nuch track he needs on solid ground. It would be great for coverage in the Meejah if he did. I can't believe how badly the British Press pack treat the 24 Heures. While I was sitting in the sun at the Welcome Area on the Sunday lunch time the only news my wife could get was on Eurosport, absolutely nothing anywhere else all weekend apparently, Utterly stupid considering the amount of Brit money being spent to be there.
Go Colin, go!

BillandLara · 3 Jan 2004, 23:42 (Ref:826923)

"nuch??"... Dohh, "much!" oops.

**GTRMagic** · 3 Jan 2004, 23:51 (Ref:826941)

He will want to be running on the grass verges, something he is well used to

And its a Ferrari, so not likely to last 24hrs anyway...

rdjones · 3 Jan 2004, 23:59 (Ref:826953)

Quote:

Originally posted by BillandLara
With tongue firmly in cheek, I do hope Colin does race at L M. At least we shall see how nuch track he needs on solid ground. It would be great for coverage in the Meejah if he did. I can't believe how badly the British Press pack treat the 24 Heures. While I was sitting in the sun at the Welcome Area on the Sunday lunch time the only news my wife could get was on Eurosport, absolutely nothing anywhere else all weekend apparently, Utterly stupid considering the amount of Brit money being spent to be there.
Go Colin, go!

If he does race I bet all you will get is wall to wall Le Mans in the press and on the TV. As you know he is doing the Daker at the momment, and guess what there are highlight on the BBC over the next 2 weekends.........

Fab · 4 Jan 2004, 07:52 (Ref:827179)

Rally pilots usualy have succesfull stories at LM, at least for the performances.

Welcome Colin !

The Badger · 4 Jan 2004, 12:55 (Ref:827333)

I would love to have seen him take the Mulsanne hump in a 550 like he does in a rally car or a handbrake turn going into Tetre Rouge !!!

Pilgrimage · 7 Jan 2004, 12:40 (Ref:830399)

Quote:

Originally posted by The Badger
I would love to have seen him take the Mulsanne hump in a 550 like he does in a rally car or a handbrake turn going into Tetre Rouge !!!

He might have been able to "hold" the flying * better than Dunbreck!

mcurtis26 · 7 Jan 2004, 13:38 (Ref:830472)

I was just trying to think how well rally drivers have done at Le Mans in the past. Guy Frequelin did well in the WR, and I think he finished top 6 one year. Marc Duez has always been good, even if hasn't a proper shot in a prototype. Did Walter Rorhl ever race? I vaguely rememeber him racing a Lancia at some point as well as his Audi DTM drives and Porsche GT. And there's Mark Thatcher as well, even if his 1982 Dakar attempt was memorable for the wrong reasons....

KA · 7 Jan 2004, 14:12 (Ref:830528)

Quote:

Originally posted by mcurtis26
I was just trying to think how well rally drivers have done at Le Mans in the past. Guy Frequelin did well in the WR, and I think he finished top 6 one year. Marc Duez has always been good, even if hasn't a proper shot in a prototype. Did Walter Rorhl ever race? I vaguely rememeber him racing a Lancia at some point as well as his Audi DTM drives and Porsche GT. And there's Mark Thatcher as well, even if his 1982 Dakar attempt was memorable for the wrong reasons....

Rohrl drove the Lancia Monte Carlos on a number of ocasions, paired with the likes of Riccardo Patrese, and had quite a bit of success- can't recall if he ever did Le Mans with Lancia, but he did finish 7th at LM in a Porsche 924GTP in 1981. Funny you should mention Mark Thatcher- (really a racer rather than a rally driver) there's an interview with him about the infamous Dakar attempt in one of this month's car magazines in the UK (can't recall which one though...)- his Dakar co-driver, Anny-Charlotte Verney was a Le Mans regular in the late 70's

Quite a few rally drivers have dabbled in sportscars to various degrees- Paddy Hopkirk took a Le Mans class win in an MGB in the 60's, Henri Toivonen had a few runs in a Group C Porsche (pretty sure he didn't do LM though), and I think Markku Alen, like Rohrl, had some sportscar appearances for Lancia

mcurtis26 · 7 Jan 2004, 14:31 (Ref:830560)

Was it Henri Toivonen or his brother Harri? Although Harri did some rallying as well IIRC

paul-collins · 7 Jan 2004, 15:27 (Ref:830605)

The handbrake cornering is more likely to work through Indianapolis and Arnage. Mmmmmm....

KA · 7 Jan 2004, 16:58 (Ref:830700)

Quote:

Originally posted by mcurtis26
Was it Henri Toivonen or his brother Harri? Although Harri did some rallying as well IIRC

Both- Henri drove Richard Lloyd's Canon Porsche a couple of times in 1983 with Jonathan Palmer and Derek Bell, while Harri was a regular in Franz Konrad's 962 around 1990/1- think his last sportscar appearances were in an Ascari a couple of years back, when they occasionally ran two cars. Harri is a former rally driver- he drove a Metro 6R4 in the British championship in the year Henri died in Corsica (86)

KA · 7 Jan 2004, 17:05 (Ref:830712)

Talking of the Toivonen brothers racing in sportscars has just reminded me- their father, Pauli was a works Porsche rally driver in the late 60's- One of his team-mates, of course, went on to have a very successful career in sportscars- Vic Elford. I can't believe we've been discussing rally drivers crossing over to sportscars without his name coming up....

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