"Haimatox" (haimatox)
09/15/2014 at 19:24 • Filed to: None
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"Haimatox" (haimatox)
09/15/2014 at 19:24 • Filed to: None | 4
| 10 |
As I am sure you know, today marks the seventh anniversary of a legend's passing. Colin McRae, along with son Johnny and two family friends perished in a helicopter crash on September 15, 2007. I wanted to write this post to share some of my feelings about Colin, and maybe hear your favorite moments or memories of him.
As a 17-year-old who only recently discovered his passion for rallying, I never had the opportunity to watch Colin live on TV or in person. I never even knew he existed until he was long gone, in 2010. But luckily we have the internet and YouTube. And when I first watched Colin race, I physically shivered. The video was onboard footage from the 2001 Rally GB. One YouTube comment summarizes the video quite succinctly. "The whole stage just looks like a massive crash that never happened." That was Colin's version of magic. If you can drive a car at the limit for over 10 minutes, you are officially a magician.
It may seem cliché, but his natural talent was obvious; there was an ease with which he made the car dance over the terrain, and he had the remarkable ability to go flat-out, no matter the circumstances. While the car was always on the ragged edge, any interior video shows that Colin was always calm and in control of the car (except when he crashed, of course). His complete determination to win and his complete trust in his ability should be an inspiration to all athletes.
While there have been more successful WRC drivers (I'm looking at you, Monsieur Loeb), there are few whose raw talent can possibly match McRae's. Although it may once again be cliché, it is unlikely we will ever see another like Colin who not only has such talent, but also an infectious personality. And what a damn shame that is.
If in doubt, flat out.
Pessimippopotamus
> Haimatox
09/15/2014 at 19:34 |
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Shit, you had to post a picture of him with a helicopter.
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Haimatox
> Pessimippopotamus
09/15/2014 at 19:36 |
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You're right... That probably wasn't a good idea. I deleted the photo. My bad.
BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
> Haimatox
09/15/2014 at 19:36 |
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I, too, don't have a lot of memories of him racing, because you just can't catch Rally anywhere on Brazilian TV, but his name was familiar to me from motorsports magazines I used to read as a teenager, as well as his Rally titles for several consoles. Colin McRae Rally was my favorite Game Boy Advance past time for a looong time...
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Haimatox
> BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
09/15/2014 at 19:38 |
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I never had any of his games, unfortunately. Maybe I'll find one on Ebay or something.
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Pessimippopotamus
> Haimatox
09/15/2014 at 19:42 |
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Hahaha. Sorry. It was quite surreal when I heard/read the news for the first time. Granted, race car drivers end up in dangerous situations all the time (Michael Schumacher with skis, Robert Kubica with rallying, James Hunt with venereal diseases...), but McRae's death hit me really hard for some reason.
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Haimatox
> Pessimippopotamus
09/15/2014 at 19:44 |
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I can only imagine what it must have felt like. As I stated earlier, I didn't even know who he was until 2010. Which, I suppose, is both a curse and a blessing.
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BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
> Haimatox
09/15/2014 at 20:24 |
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if I remember, there is one on Steam right now, I believe it's a mashup of the best elements of each title, or an HD remaster of the original title, or just the original title, actually, might be worth a look. The GBA version is the one I played the most, racing games on handhelds usually sucked, but that one was impressive. Cars would get dirty and beaten up, handling was pretty spot on and the whole thing ran better than more famous titles such as V-Rally 3.
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Haimatox
> BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
09/15/2014 at 20:26 |
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It's actually crap... It's a PC port of a mobile game.
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BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
> Haimatox
09/15/2014 at 20:33 |
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Oh... That's a shame. I only saw a few screens while passing the featured offers on the store frontpage, looked neat, but I guess it isn't after all, hahaha...
MonkeePuzzle
> Haimatox
09/16/2014 at 15:43 |
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I think of him often
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/colin-was-talk…