Burns calls for Subaru reliability answers

Burns made a flying start to his 2000 campaign by winning two of the first three rallies of the year and taking a dominant points lead. But the Subaru driver has since slipped down the order behind Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm and Ford's Colin McRae after finishing just once in the last four events.

"We are at a level where we can win any rally on speed," said Burns, "but we aren't there on the reliability side."

The 29-year-old struggled home to fourth place on last weekend's Cyprus Rally after various mechanical problems. A broken damper deprived Burns of a potential second place and even more frustrating for the Englishman was the fact that Subaru had done four times as much testing in Cyprus as winner Ford in the run up to the event.

Burns was stuck for answers when quizzed on the roots of the reliability problem.

"Good question," He said. "I've asked the engineers the same thing, because we have to make sure the car is 100 per cent reliable if we want this title."

Four-time World Champion and Subaru team mate Juha Kankkunen reiterated Burns' concerns, saying: "If I tell you I am happy I am lying. There is a bit of work to do. We don't have a main problem. The car is fast, but little things happen that should not."

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Burns calls for Subaru reliability answers

Richard Burns has expressed his concern over the reliability of his Prodrive-built Subaru Impreza after falling to third place in the World Rally Championship points race, according to Autosport's sister publication Motoring News