McRae’s greatest WRC victory – 20 years ago today

February 28, 2019 0 Comments

It’s 20 years to the day since Colin McRae and Nicky Grist won the Safari Rally – in what is often described as their greatest FIA World Rally Championship victory.

Having moved from Subaru to Ford, the 1999 season didn’t get off to the best of starts. The new Martini-backed Focus RS WRC looked the business and clearly had potential, but failure to finish Monte Carlo and Sweden highlighted the lack of pre-season testing.

And then came the Safari Rally – the world’s toughest event!

Against all odds, McRae/Grist won the event – finishing over 14 minutes ahead of Didier Auriol/Denis Giraudet in a Toyota Corolla WRC.

“The 1999 Safari Rally was one of Colin’s greatest victories,” recalls Nicky.

“Consistent solid performances and no car issues delivered a convincing victory. It was somewhat of a surprise to everyone, as the car was so new and unproven. Great memories!”