Why Richard Burns is the WRC’s unsung hero
If I were to ask everyone in the office to name their favourite rally driver, I’d put money on names like Röhrl, Kankkunen, Sainz, Mäkinen and McRae being thrown about.
Indeed, these hotshoes all have the stats to prove their endless driving talent. But for me there’s one that deserves to stand head and shoulders clear of the rest: Richard Burns.
Here was a name that was, ahem, burned into my brain early on, when my parents bought me a pair of radio-controlled rally cars: a Subaru Impreza WRC and a Peugeot 206 WRC, each with the names of Burns and his co-driver Robert Reid affixed prominently to the rear window.
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I’d regularly get them out and attempt to drift them across the conservatory, laminate flooring being surprisingly good for perfecting the art.
It was the blue and yellow Scooby that stood out to me, and watching Petter Solberg pilot his life-size version over huge crests and between trees on television set the foundations for a love of rallying from an early age.
My true appreciation for Berkshire-born Burns came later, when I stumbled across his excellent autobiography, Driving Ambition, which tracks his rise to prominence from the Peugeot Challenge series, which helped launch the careers of many great drivers.
My godfather used to compete in the Peugeot Challenge in his 1.6-litre 205 alongside Burns (who was in the big-boy 1.9-litre car) and my dad was part of the service crew.
He once recounted a story of Burns from the Circuit des Ardennes rally back in 1991: not only did he win the event, but he was fastest on most of the stages and was easy to spot during the night because his brakes were glowing orange, such was his commitment.
Burns would go on to become the youngest ever British Rally Champion and eventually a World Rally Champion in 2001 with Subaru – an incredible achievement, considering that he was behind the likes of Colin McRae and Tommi Mäkinen heading into the final round in Wales.
Cool, calm and collected, Burns kept his Impreza on the road while McRae crashed out and Mäkinen retired from the event early on. As of today, Burns remains the only English driver to win the WRC title.
You only need to watch on-board footage of Burns to gauge how talented and supremely fast he was at the helm of a rally car. His smooth driving style coupled with Reid’s detailed pace notes allowed him to paint a clear picture of the stage ahead.
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He was so relaxed that he would sometimes even steer with one hand. Burns’ move to Peugeot a er his title victory didn’t go according to plan, and a return to Subaru was on the cards for 2004, but sadly I never got to see him race in blue and yellow.
Burns was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2003 and succumbed to his illness two years later at the age of just 34. I will never get to meet my rallying hero, then, but his legacy lives on 20 years a er his passing. What a man. What a talent. What a driver.
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