The November 25, 2005 is a date engraved in the hearts of the fans of the rally. Through an emotional release, the family of Richard Burns communicated his death after battling for months against a cancer. The british pilot who had hung the monkey for almost two year before as a result of this damn disease, died at the age of 34 years. A prompt dead that did more than agigantar his legend after to become the first champion of the World Rally of the TWENTY-first Century. Was at the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRC.
Richard Burns is the myth of the WRC for many reasons. The margin of the title harvested in 2001 or the second places added in the two previous seasons, the briton was one of the drivers most dear by his charisma and his way of being. The redhead Reading scored in his career in the World 10 victories and 34 podiums, but perhaps his most important work was the promotion of the rally to new generations. Collaborated in the development of the well-known simulator PC ‘Richard Burns Rally’, which brought the WRC to millions of computers.
Richard Burns really got into the rallies thanks to his father and after a few first years running around with a Tlabot Sumbeam, was discovered by David Williams, which became their main defender. In 1990, he contested the Peugeot Challenge that won at the controls of a Pueugeot 205 GTI. That same year he played for the first Rally of Wales, the test in which he participated in the following three years. In 1993, joined the wheel of a Subaru Legacy RS his first points in the World, although by then, I had given samples of his talent rising with the title of the British Championship Rally with this same vehicle.
Always
accompanied by his inseparable co-driver Robert Reid, Subaru finished
get him involved in your official team and exposure in various tests of the WRC and
in the Championship of Asia-Pacific. His first podium was at the Rally
Wales 1995 where already lived his first duel with Carlos Sainz and Colin
McRae. However, his first full-time season in the WRC did not
comes to 1997, of the hand of Mitsubishi, who the previous year had been
done with their services. In its first few bars with Mitsubishi lived to
the shadow of Tommi Mäkinen.
Your
the first victory came in 1998 in the Rally of Kenya. In that season
because he ran as a pilot to keep in mind. Finished sixth in the
championship and was the preamble of their best version. In 1999, she returned to
Subaru as the first pilot to fight against the own Tommi Mäkinen
(Mitsubishi) and Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol (Toyota) and Colin McRae
(Ford). I got the victory in Greece, Australia and Great Britain, and
he finished runner-up, a result that would repeat the following year after
to overcome the rallies of Kenya, Portugal, Argentina, and Great Britain.
fights against the Peugeot 206 WRC of Marcus Gronholm marked an era.
To
the third was the charm and Richard Burns won the World Rally in
2001. Interestingly, that season only won a rally, but it was the
pilot more regular. In a final agony on the that Colin McRae, Tommi
Mäkinen, Carlos Sainz and Burns were coming with options,
little by little they were eliminating contestants. He finished third in Wales, taking advantage of the abandonment of McRae and Mäkinen for
to become champion. This title allowed him to say goodbye to Subaru. In
2002 and 2003 he raced for Peugeot, with the team that would end its
race the damn brain tumor that ended up snatching the life.
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