Providing back up in the second Ford Escort RS Cosworth was Belgian Bruno Thiry. Two-time WRC champion Miki Biasion was gone with fiery Frenchman Francois Delecour in his place. It was all change at Ford, with Belgian team RAS Sport taking over the running of its program. Together, Sainz and McRae cemented Subaru as the most ominous threat to Toyota’s dominance. McRae was personally buoyed after dominating the season-ending Rally Great Britain to round out 1994, and publicly voiced his title ambitions for ’95 on the podium. Sainz and McRae continued with Subaru as confidence grew within the Prodrive camp. Reigning driver’s champion Auriol and Finn Juha Kankkunen hoped to deliver Toyota a hat-trick of manufacturer’s titles, and just maybe a fifth driver’s crown in six years. The change would have significant ramifications with the FIA later in the season. Reigning champions Toyota appeared to be on the decline, but it appeared the Celica GT-Four’s success was waning due to the FIA’s decision to reduce the restrictor size from 38mm to 34mm. Sweden, Australia and Spain returned to a compact calendar, with a driver’s top seven points finishes counting towards the end of year total. Two wins came the way of McRae, in New Zealand as well as Great Britain, yet it was Toyota’s Didier Auriol took the crown.The scene was set for 1995 in what was expected to be a battle of the ages, and even 25 years later, it didn’t disappoint.Įight rallies made up the schedule amid the second year of the FIA’s event rotation program, which saw the Safari Rally, Acropolis, Argentina, Finland and San Remo omitted. While Toyota took the manufacturer’s title, season 1994 sent a warning shot to Subaru’s rivals as Sainz finished second in the title, taking victory in Greece. In addition to the Impreza, the stakes rose further for the team as it signed double-World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz, alongside McRae, sparking a decade-long rivalry between the duo. Subaru switched to the smaller Impreza WRX Group A for ’94, and despite a solitary win for the team with McRae in New Zealand, it kicked off a new era for Prodrive and Subaru. McRae started his career at Prodrive in 1991, delivering the first of back-to-back British Rally Championships, which were mixed in 1992 with WRC events highlighted by a tenacious eighth place in a significantly damaged car in Finland. McRae’s early WRC career saw him show impressive pace, but that raw speed was punctuated by large accidents, resulting in the label ‘McCrash’ bestowed upon him by the media. That triumph at Rally New Zealand in 1993 was also the first win for a promising young Scot, reigning British Rally Champion, Colin McRae. It wasn’t until the fourth season of the program and ironically its final event that the Legacy RS Group A finally took Subaru’s maiden WRC victory. Rally legends Markku Alen and Ari Vatanen were put in charge of developing the Group A Legacy, but sustained success failed to materialise. The brand’s first serious journey into WRC competition began in 1989 with the launch of the new Legacy RS (Liberty RS here in Australia), and the Japanese manufacturer’s association with the David Richards-led Prodrive began. McRae was surrounded by rallying from an early age, his father Jimmy a multiple British Rally Champion, while his younger brother Alister followed him into the WRC.īy 1995, Subaru had established itself as a contender in the WRC against established heavyweights Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi. McRae’s ‘if in doubt, go flat out’ philosophy still resonates in rallying to this day, inspiring many of the current generation of WRC stars who grew up watching his all-out attacking style and playing the video games bearing his name.
This was highlighted when McRae guest drove at the X Games in 2006 against the likes of action stars Travis Pastrana and Ken Block. His popularity extended to places where rallying struggled for popularity in a convoluted market. The yellow and blue Subaru Impreza WRXs of the mid-1990s are worshipped around the world and are synonymous with the sport of rallying.Īs is the man most synonymous with them, 1995 World Rally Champion and sporting icon, Colin McRae.
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