Colin McRae - Photo by McKlein ©.
Today I was thinking of the great and fearless racing car driver Colin McRae. He was born in Lanark, Scotland on August 5, 1968. McRae drove in various types of auto races, but mostly in World Rally Championship racing, and always at full throttle. He was almost always among the leaders, and won 25 races. Even though he only won the WRC Driver's title one time (1995), Colin was considered by many to be the best of his time. His co-drivers (navigators) for his days in the WRC included fellow Scot Derek Ringer and Welsh co-driver Nicky Grist. Together their teams helped win the Constructor's (Manufacturer's) title four times. McRae was my personal favorite racing driver of any type of racing. He and his co-drivers brought my mostly Scottish and Welsh American heart much joy before McRae died in a helicopter crash near his home in Lanark, Scotland on September 15, 2007. His five year old son Johnny and two family friends also perished. With Colin McRae in mind, I picked "I'm In Love With My Car" for 'Today's Tune'. The song was written by auto enthusiast and drummer for Queen, Roger Taylor.
Other August 5th birthdays include: 1906 - English actress Joan Hickson ('See How They Run', Miss Marple, 'Clockwise'), 1930 - American astronaut Neil Armstrong and 1975 - English actor Antony Cotton (Queer As Folk, Having It Off, Coronation Street).
Among those who have died on August 5th were Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (King Of Gwynedd) in 1063, American actress Marylin Monroe ('The Asphalt Jungle', 'The Seven Year Itch', 'Some Like It Hot') in 1962, Welsh actor Richard Burton ('Becket', 'Camelot', 'The Taming Of The Shrew') in 1984 and English actor Sir Alec Guinness ('The Lavender Hill Mob', 'The Horse's Mouth', 'Little Dorrit')in the year 2000.
Queen - "I'm In Love With My Car"
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