Prodrive expects to set a new world record as more than 1000 Subaru Impreza cars will be present at the company headquarters to pay tribute to the late Colin McRae. The event will take place on August 31.
The convoy of Imprezas will start in Colin's home town of Lanark at 10 am on Saturday 30 August and will be led by his 1995 World Rally Championship-winning Impreza 555. Their route will include the A74, M6, M42 and the M40 before arriving at Prodrive in Banbury.
Prodrive Press Release:
A world record 1000 Imprezas are expected to descend on Prodrive on August 31, as the
Subaru community gathers to pay a fitting tribute to the late Colin McRae.
Led by McRae’s 1995 World Rally Championship-winning Impreza 555, a convoy of Subarus will leave Colin’s home town of Lanark at 10 am on Saturday 30 August. The initially small group of Subarus will head down the A74, M6, M42 and the M40 before arriving at Prodrive in Banbury later the same day.
On Sunday August 31, organisers of the McRae Gathering expect more than 1000 Subarus from all over the UK to gather at Prodrive. The British motorsport company is the home of the Subaru World Rally Team, where Colin spent the most successful years of his rallying career; first winning the British Rally Championship in a Subaru Legacy in 1991 and 1992, before graduating to the works team Impreza and famously becoming Britain’s first world rally champion in 1995.
Colin also helped Subaru win the manufacturers’ championship in 1996 and 1997 and his 1996 Group A Impreza 555, will lead the convoy up the
M40 for the final leg of its journey from Banbury to Prodrive’s proving ground in Warwickshire.
Having just set a world record for a gathering of Subarus, the aim is then to set a world record for a parade of Subarus, as all the cars circulate around the 2 mile test track. As a final mark of respect, the Subarus will park up on the mile-long straight to spell out the name Colin McRae in letters more than 100 feet tall and visible to anyone flying into nearby Birmingham International airport.
Prodrive chairman, David Richards, was instrumental in putting the young Colin McRae into a Subaru and nurturing his talent. He said: “Colin was not only an exceptional driver, but also a remarkable person and a great friend to everyone at Prodrive. Single-handedly he brought the sport of rallying into everyone’s living room, whether it was through his sideways exploits in the forest or through the many video games which bore his name. I can not think of a more fitting tribute to Colin than a gathering of so many Subarus, a car for which he did so much to make as popular as it is today.”
The McRae Gathering is only open to Subarus and to take part, all cars must bear the special ‘McRae Gathering’ plate.
There is an entry charge of £10 for each car and all proceeds will go to the McRaes’ nominated charities. For more information and to join the convoy please visit www.mcrae-gathering.co.uk.
