Motorsport world pays tribute to champion McRae

"He achieved one of his greatest victories with us when he won the legendary Safari Rally in Kenya in 1999 on only our third event with a brand new Focus WRC.

"Since retiring as a full-time driver in the WRC, Colin has done much for the sport at grass roots level and his tragic death is a huge loss to British sport in general."

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David Richards, who was in charge of the Subaru rally team when McRae won the title in 1995, said McRae was a "legend" of the sport.

"He was competitive and extreme in everything he did but also so much fun," he told reporters at the weekend.

"There was never a moment when he didn't try 100 percent.

"It's ironic that he walked away from so many accidents only for this to happen."

Richards himself had a narrow escape on Sunday when the helicopter he and his wife were travelling in from the Belgium Grand Prix crash-landed near London.

They were both physically unharmed, suffering nothing more than shock.