Burns maps out his 2001 title attack

The 30-year-old Subaru star finished runner-up to Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm in last year's championship battle, but says that he and co-driver Robert Reid will form an even more potent combination this season.

"No matter how many guys are out there, we've got to beat them all," said Burns at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham. "You win championships by beating everybody over the whole year and we will go out there with the intention of winning every single rally."

Burns equalled Gronholm's tally of four victories in 2000, but lost out in a final round showdown on the Rally Great Britain, despite winning the event for the third time in a row.

"Last year, we were the only crew to record a fastest stage time on all 14 rounds," he said, "but we had a good beginning to the year followed by a bad second half. This year, we need to keep a run going, get to the end of every rally, but always aim for wins, not just points.

"We know we've got the speed, we need reliability and luck as well - and we need bad luck for our opposition. I'll take what I can get."

As well as Gronholm, Burns rates Ford's Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz and Mitsubishi's quadruple title-winner Tommi Makinen as his main opposition, but he also tipped Peugeot's new recruit, French veteran Didier Auriol, as a dark horse for the title. The Englishman also believes that Subaru's new signing Petter Solberg will break into the winners' circle.

"I'm like the old boy on the team now," quipped Burns, "and I definitely think one of my young team mates will win a rally this season. Petter's shown he can do the times. Okay, he's been off the road a lot too, but it's all part of the learning process."

Burns has been involved in an intensive tarmac test programme for the latest version of Subaru's WRC-spec Impreza and says the re-styled car is a significant step forward from the 2000 machine.

"It's fairly similar under the skin," he said, "with a few changes to the suspension and engine, but it does feel very different. The aerodynamics are much improved, and it's surprising how much you can feel it on a rally car. The chassis is also a lot stiffer, which makes the car feel a lot more precise. We've already put in 350 kilometres of testing in France and I'm very confident."

The Monte Carlo Rally, round one of the 14-event series, begins on January 19.