Rally GB: Win or bust for Burns
Richard Burns knows that only a win will do on the Network Q Rally Great Britain if he is to wrest the world rally crown from Marcus Gronholm, who inherited Rally Australia victory upon Tommi Makinen's exclusion
Subaru star Burns just failed to overhaul the Finn's Peugeot for victory on Rally Australia, a battle which was only decided on a nail-biting final stage. Makinen, who won the rally on the treacherously slippery stages but lost it in post-event scrutineering due to a turbo irregularity, handed the win to Gronholm, which leaves Burns playing catch-up and Ford's Colin McRae out of the title running.
"After today's result, the pressure is now on to win the Rally of Great Britain without fail," said Burns. "The championship remains a possibility, although that is now not just be down to me winning alone. It is of course a shame that today didn't unfold any better, but as I have said all event, the result should be decided on the stages rather than other factors having a bearing on the outcome. That said, I was pushing as hard as I could today, so all credit to Marcus."
The disqualification of Makinen has made it even harder for Burns to take the title.
a) He finishes in the top five of Rally GB
b) He fails to score while Burns doesn't win
c) Neither he nor Burns scores
He wins Rally GB with Gronholm sixth or lower
Makinen's disqualification also gave Peugeot the manufacturers' championship title.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Latvala: Neuville, Evans tied for WRC Croatia lead "something special"
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
WRC Croatia: Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages
WIN! A VIP Race Weekend Experience in Monaco
How Rovanpera showed his class above his WRC rivals in Kenya
How a new 'old' challenge is capturing the spirit of British rallying lore
How Lappi survived Swedish snow carnage to snap his lengthy WRC drought
The new WRC highs Neuville reached to defeat Monte master Ogier
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments