A mate sent me a great video of Colin McRae the other day, on the seventh anniversary of the former WRC champion’s death. I had never seen it before so I forwarded it to a few people, Richard Tuthill included. The Tuthill and McRae families are good friends so I know Richard would enjoy it, but I got more of a response than I was expecting.

“I’ve watched that more times over the last five years than any other in-car. It’s unbelievable – proper proper driving,  he was incredibly good and I was so lucky to sit in an Impreza with him in Australia. Colin drove our blue car at Sweetlamb: within 600 metres, he was driving it quicker than I have ever seen a 911 being driven. He was a legend.”

No doubt all World Rally Champions display legendary talent, but many more drivers who never took a championship fully deserve the title of legend. Amongst the most legendary drivers still rallying is François Delecour (above): four-time winner in the WRC, and a man who has claimed many more wins in the hearts and minds of spectators.

Delecour is a legend: a tempestuous French maverick whose aura fluoresces with talent and passion. While Francois has picked up a reputation for crashing, the truth is that in thirteen years of WRC rallying from 1990 to 2002 (and six years of ERC before that), only twelve retirements were due to accidents. His pace is always scorching and his devotion to the Porsche 911 is unassailable: a prospect sure to arouse anyone with a hint of Porsche petrol in their veins.

“Ever since driving a round of the 2011 British Historic Rally Championship in one of our classic 911 rally cars, François has been part of the Tuthill Porsche family,” says Richard “He has a deep affection for the Porsche 911, and his exhilarating driving style will excite every rally fan watching the stages. All of our team is delighted to welcome him back in a Porsche.”

Tuthill Porsche 997 RGT earns a Million Views and Shares

France will be the second WRC event for the Tuthill Porsche 997 RGT, which captivated rally fans on its German debut. WRC website data reveals that features on the Tuthill Porsche RGT car have since enjoyed more than a million views and shares across the web and on social media.

“We knew that rally fans would embrace our RGT Porsche and the return of GT cars to the world rally stage,” says Richard. “With the fans so enthralled by our car, its time to put a world-class driver and co-driver into the Tuthill Porsche 911 RGT and take that excitement to the next level. We’re confident that François is the best man to do this, and we know the fans are just going to love it!”

WRC Rallye de France runs from 3-5 October. Get more details at www.rallyedefrance.com or via the WRC website at www.wrc.com.

Back to the start: here’s the McRae video I was talking about. He was the ultimate. These photos are by Andre Lavadinho, who is also rather special.