Colin McRae is the second-most successful World Rally Championship driver of all time, having won 25 WRC rallies. He was born in Lanark, Scotland, 5 August 1968. He was awarded the title of MBE, or Member of the British Empire in 1996. His father was legendary rally driver Jimmy McRae. His brother, Alistair McRae , is also a rally driver, but in the World Production Car Rally Championship , which operates alongside the better known World Rally Championship.

Colin began his rally career in 1986, piloting a Talbot Sunbeam. His first WRC exposure was in the 1987 Swedish Rally behind the wheel of a Vauxall Nova, and again in 1989, driving a Ford Sierra XR 4x4 and finishing 15th overall. Later in 89, he finished 5th overall at Rally New Zealand in a RWD Sierra Cosworth. 1991 saw Colin join the Prodrive Subaru team for the British Rally Championship. He was twice the British Rally Champion in 91 and 92.

He won his first WRC rally in 1993, piloting the Prodrive-built Subaru Legacy in the Rally New Zealand. He followed this success in 1993 with three successive manufacturer's titles for Subaru in 1995, 96 and 97. He also won the 1998 Race of Champions. After several years of varying success, Colin switched to the Ford team in 1999, behind the wheel of the new Focus rally car. Colin found mixed success with the Ford team, and in 2003, decided to part ways with Ford and sign with the promising Citroen team. In 2004, Colin decided to take some time off from WRC and pursue other interests, such as piloting a Nissan truck in the Paris Dakar Rally.

As of 2004, he's participated in more than 120 events, winning at least 25 of them, and taking the 1995 WRC champion crown. He's been teammates of other great drivers such as Carlos Sainz, Richard Burns and Ari Vatenan , among others.

Codemasters released its title Colin McRae Rally in 1998. This was followed later in the year by a version 2.0 release on Sony's PlayStation. The third version found a wide audience on the PlayStation 2, PC, and Xbox. Versions 04 and now 2005 have brought an extremely arcade rally driving experience to gamers.

While his future is the subject of heated discussions and rumours, his influence on the popularity of WRC and rally racing is unquestionable.