Richard Burns

Richard Alexander Burns (17 January 1971 – 25 November 2005) was an English rally driver who won the 2001 World Rally Championship, having previously finished runner-up in the series in 1999 and 2000. He also helped Mitsubishi to the world manufacturers' title in 1998, and Peugeot in 2002. His co-driver in his whole career was Robert Reid. He is the only Englishman to have won the World Rally Championship as a driver.

Career

Pre-WRC Burns was born in Reading, Berkshire, and grew up in Checkendon, Oxfordshire. At the age of eight, he first started driving his father's old Triumph 2000 in a field near their house. At eleven Burns joined the Under 17 Car Club, where he became driver of the year in 1984. Just two years later, his father arranged a trip to Jan Churchill's Welsh Forest Rally School near Newtown, Powys, where Burns drove a Ford Escort for the day, and from that moment on he knew what he wanted to do. Richard badgered his father into letting him join the Craven Motor Club, in his home town of Reading, where his talent was quickly spotted by David Williams, a rally enthusiast who would play a major role in Burns's early career. In 1988, he entered his first rallies in his own Talbot Sunbeam, but the car was too basic and slow to make much of an impression, so in 1989, he borrowed other competitors' machines to progress. To this end he rallied the stages of Panaround, Bagshot, Mid-Wales, Millbrook, Severn Valley, Kayel Graphics, and the Cambrian Rally as these were all rallies which included stages used on more prestigious events.

In 1990, Burns joined the Peugeot Challenge after David Williams bought Burns a Peugeot 205 GTI. Upon winning that series, Richard's prize was a chance to drive a World Rally Championship event in Great Britain that same year. Then in 1991, Burns met Robert Reid, the man who was to become his co-driver for the rest of his career, finishing 16th overall in their first WRC rally together, winning the A7 car category. For 1992 Williams purchased a Group N Subaru Legacy for Burns; with support from Prodrive, they won the National Championship. This year also saw Burns help Colin McRae with his gravel notes as Prodrive viewed Richard as a promising talent for the future. Burns won that year's Severn Valley Rally outright despite being in a slower car.

In 1993, Burns joined the Subaru Rally Team for the British Rally Championship alongside Alister McRae in another Subaru Legacy. He won four rounds that year at the Vauxhall Sport, Pirelli, Scottish, and Manx International to become BRC's youngest champion. A messy legal battle ensued for the Englishman's services for the following 2002 season, from which fresh suitors, 2000 and 2001 manufacturers' champions Peugeot emerged victorious.

2002–2003: Return to Peugeot

Burns returned to the Peugeot for the 2002 season. Although Peugeot were the pacesetting team of the period, Burns had difficulty matching the pace of team-mates Marcus Grönholm (on gravel) and Gilles Panizzi (on tarmac). Therefore, the existing tally of ten WRC triumphs were not to be added to, with the quest for a second world title proving equally fruitless for Burns. He won the Rally Argentina, but soon he was disqualified as his 206 was found underweight, handing the victory to Sainz, and in Rally New Zealand, he was leading until towards the end of day 2 when he rolled his car, forcing him to retire. He cobbled together a title challenge, albeit founded more on regular podium finishes than on victories, for much of the 2003 season – a feat which did not convince him to remain at the wheel of the 206 WRC.

In the 2003 season, Burns was still winless, although seven podiums means he led the championship at most of the season. The gloomy prospect of a continued winning drought with the French team left Burns poised to rejoin Subaru, having signed for them for the second time beginning with the 2004 season, the ploy being to couple him with the eventual 2003 title winner, Norway's Petter Solberg. In November 2003, however, with the Englishman heading to the season-ending Wales Rally GB still with a chance of winning the title, Burns suffered a blackout while driving with Ford driver Markko Märtin to the rally. He was withdrawn from the event, and thus the title fight, and was later diagnosed with an astrocytoma, a type of malignant brain tumour. Treatment during 2004 was followed by surgery in April 2005 that was described as "very successful"; however, the diagnosis that this type of brain tumor was malignant was only soon realised. In August 2005, a fan day was made in which Burns's supporters were invited to see his private car collection, but he was unable to drive so his co-driver Robert Reid took the seat on his private cars.

WRC victories Event Season Co-driver Car 1 Safari Rally

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV 2 Rally of Great Britain Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V 3 Acropolis Rally

4 Rally Australia 5 Rally of Great Britain 6 Safari Rally

7 Rallye de Portugal

8 Rally Argentina 9 Rally of Great Britain 10 Rally New Zealand 2001 Subaru Impreza WRC 2001

Complete WRC results Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 WDC Points 1990 Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 309 GTI MON POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN AUS ITA IVO GBR28 NC 0 1991 Peugeot Talbot Sport Peugeot 309 GTI MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN AUS ITA IVO ESP GBR16 NC 0 1992 Richard Burns Peugeot 309 GTI MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE NZL ARG FIN AUS ITA IVO ESP GBRRet NC 0 1993 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Legacy RS MON SWE POR KEN FRA GRE ARG NZL FIN AUS ITA ESP GBR7 43rd 41994 SMSG / N. Koseki Subaru Impreza WRX MON POR KEN5 FRA GRE ARG 20th 8 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza 555 NZLRet FIN ITA GBRRet 1995 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza 555 MON SWE POR7 FRA NZLRet AUS ESP GBR3 9th 16 1996 Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III SWE KEN INARet GRE ARG4 FIN AUS5 ITA ESPRet 9th 18 1997 Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV MON SWE KEN2 PORRet ESP FRA ARGRet GRE4 NZL4 FIN INA4 ITA AUS4 GBR4 7th 21 1998 Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV MON5 SWE15 KEN1 POR4 6th 33 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V ESP4 FRARet ARG4 GRERet NZL9 FIN5 ITA7 AUSRet GBR1 1999 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC99 MON8 SWE5 KENRet POR4 ESP5 FRA7 ARG2 GRE1 NZLRet FIN2 CHN2 ITARet AUS1 GBR1 2nd 55 2000 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC99 MONRet SWE5 KEN1 2nd 60 Subaru Impreza WRC2000 POR1 ESP2 ARG1 GRERet NZLRet FINRet CYP4 FRA4 ITARet AUS2 GBR1 2001 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza WRC2001 MONRet SWE16 POR4 ESP7 ARG2 CYP2 GRERet KENRet FIN2 NZL1 ITARet FRA4 AUS2 GBR3 1st 44 2002 Peugeot Total Peugeot 206 WRC MON8 SWE4 FRA3 ESP2 CYP2 ARGDSQ GRERet KENRet FIN2 GER2 ITA4 NZLRet AUSRet GBRRet 5th 34 2003 Marlboro Peugeot Total Peugeot 206 WRC MON5 SWE3 TUR2 NZL2 ARG3 GRE4 CYPRet GER3 FIN3 AUS3 ITA7 FRA8 ESPRet GBR 4th 58

APRC results

Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 APRC Points 1993 Richard Burns Subaru Legacy 4WD Turbo IDN NZL MYS AUS THA2 ? ? 1994 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza 555 IDNRet NZLRet MYS2 AUS5 HKG2 THA2 3rd 45 1995 555 Subaru World Rally Team Subaru Impreza 555 IDN NZLRet MYS AUS HKG3 THA3 ? ? 1996 Petronas Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III THARet IDNRet MYS2 NZL1 AUS5 HKG2 2nd 58 1997 Mitsubishi Ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III THA CHN NZL4 MYS IDN4 AUS4 6th 30

Personal life In 2001, Burns emigrated from Britain to Andorra, reportedly for tax purposes.

Death Late on Friday, 25 November 2005, four years to the day after winning the 2001 World Rally Championship, Burns died at the Wellington Hospital in St John’s Wood, London, aged 34, after having been in a coma for some days as a result of a brain tumour. A memorial service was held at St Luke's Church, Chelsea on Thursday 22 December 2005, with readings from BBC TV's Jeremy Clarkson and Steve Rider, and a tribute paid by one of his closest friends, photographer Colin McMaster. He was buried at St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon.

British television show Top Gear aired a tribute to Burns. The host, Jeremy Clarkson, said that "the news has been completely dominated, as far as we're concerned, by the sad death of Richard Burns." No other motoring news was announced in that episode. Burns had previously appeared on Top Gear twice, once touting rallying as more interesting and influential than Formula One, and then test-driving the Peugeot RC.

Subaru paid tribute to Burns at Castle Combe in 2006, when over fifty Subaru Impreza RB5s took to the track, including the RB5 No. 001 driven by Alex Burns, Richard's father. They also released a special edition Impreza WRX STI in 2007 – the RB320 – in memory of Burns. It features a 320 bhp (240 kW) Prodrive Performance Pack, Prodrive developed suspension, sports spring kit and is available only in obsidian black colour. Proceeds went to the RB Foundation.

During the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the RB foundation, named for Burns's initials, was inaugurated, with its stated aim being to "inspire and support people with serious injury and illness." The foundation also raises money for the Michael Park Fund, which deals with improving safety in motorsport events. British band Travis dedicated their album The Boy with No Name (2007) to Burns's memory.

Richard Burns Trophy In 2006, the young driver's award in the Wales Rally GB was renamed the Richard Burns Trophy in his honour. It is awarded to the highest placed, non-priority driver who is 25 years old or younger.