Jimmy McRae

Who is Jimmy McRae?

Jimmy McRae is a Scottish rally driver. He was highly successful in the British Rally Championship, winning the title five times in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1988. In the European Rally Championship for drivers, he was runner-up in 1982, while his highest placing in the World Rally Championship was fifteenth in 1983. Aside from his rallying career, McRae has maintained and run a very busy plumbing business in his home town of Lanark. He is the father of World Rally Championship driver Alister McRae, and the late 1995 World Rally Champion Colin McRae.

Throughout his career, McRae drove for a number of different teams, reaching a pinnacle during his spell in the Rothmans Rally Team, driving an Opel Manta 400. During his time at Rothmans, his team mates were Ari Vatanen, Walter Röhrl and Henri Toivonen. He then progressed to the venerable MG Metro 6R4.

Though mostly retired from motorsport now, McRae still occasionally competes on historic rallies and some Scottish Rally Championship events, with some occasional outings on the Wales Rally GB. In 2006 he won the Roger Albert Clark Rally in a Stobart Motorsport sponsored Mark 2 Ford Escort.