This September, the motorsport world lost a true legend when Colin McRae's helicopter crashed at his own estate in Scotland – taking the lives of all its passengers, including his 5-year-old son, another young boy, and an old friend of Colin's.

Colin McRae was the consummate racer. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and if there was a fight to be fought, you could count on him to provide absolute excitement till the bitter end.Whereas a Formula 1 car looks clinical and precise, a rally car looks wild and like it's on the edge of control all the time – when Colin was at the wheel, he made it look all the more spectacular. He was certainly the most exciting driver of the modern era to watch – it was just a little more special when he was at the controls.

It was his innate ability to wring the neck of a car – to drive it to it's absolute limit, and to always give 110% that earned him so much respect in the world of rallying, not to mention a huge fan following the world over.Colin McRae was World Rally Champion in 1995, and helped Subaru secure the constructors titles in 95, 96 and 97. He had 25 WRC victories, setting a record at the time, which has since been surpassed only by multiple world champions – Carlos Sainz, Marcus Gronholm, and Sebastian Loeb.

Colin may have been away from WRC off late, but he was still entertaining crowds wherever he went. At the X-Games in Los Angeles last year, for instance, he rolled his Subaru on the last lap, and still went on to finish second by only a few tenths of a second. He also participated in the Dakar rally, as well as the 24 hours of Le Mans.Colin had a great deal more to give to the world. His spirit will be deeply missed.