Motorsport bids farewell to Burns

The motorsport world paid tribute to 2001 World Rally Champion Richard Burns at a memorial service to celebrate his life in London today.

Burns passed away last month after losing his battle against a brain disease.

His family members have already held a private funeral, however they chose to commemorate his life with a public service at St. Luke's Church.

Many names from the sport played a part in the ceremony. British WRC television presenter Jon Desborough described to the congregation Burns's attention to detail.

"He was a perfectionist and a great communicator," Desborough said. "He was a really fast driver first and foremost. He got to his level by working on the little things - he was so good at the detail.

"An example of Richard's attention to detail was with his co-driver Robert Reid. Any normal co-driver reads pace notes for a corner, numbering them 1 to 6, depending on the tightness. Six numbers for six types of a bend. But Richard had 28 descriptions of a corner - that's what Richard was for you.

"Richard just wanted to be perfect. He was a true one-off with TV camera and could explain to you in simple terms exactly how he did what he did. He is the only person who can explain the sensation of driving on gravel."

The service included readings from fellow TV personalities Jeremy Clarkson and Steve Rider. Clarkson read out the poem If by Rudyard Kipling, and Rider read out an extract from Burns's book, Driving Ambition. The piece described in great detail how the Reading-born man approached a rally stage.

Colin McMaster, a rally photographer and a former flatmate of Burns, shared his memories with the crowd.

"Richard was my best mate," McMaster said. "When it came to driving rally cars he was the best, and at all other times he was a straight-forward, down to earth, honest bloke.

"Richard had three ambitions - to win the World Rally Championship, to share his success with his family and friends, and to find true love. And he achieved all three.

"I will always remember Richard and Robert as a team and unbeatable in foggy conditions. They drove like angels with X-Ray eyes, although Richard was born with a terrible infliction - ginger hair!"

McMaster said Burns "would do anything for his family and friends" and described the lengths Burns went to find a ring that belonged to his late grandfather, which he always wore on a leather strap around his neck.

"During the Rally Finland in 2000, Richard crashed," McMaster said. "They rolled several times and took out several pine trees and Banbury's finest machinery.

"But Richard realised that the leather strap round his neck had broken, and his grandfather's ring was now missing. All the hobbits in the world wouldn't have found that ring but Richard wouldn't leave the scene until he found it. And found it he did.

"For two years Richard showed great bravery, determination courage and, most importantly, humour. He never complained once about his tumour.

"I'll leave my last words to Richard himself, which he said earlier this year: 'I've been deeply touched by all your support'."

The service was attended by, among others, former world champions Petter Solberg and Didier Auriol; FIA president Max Mosley; WRC commercial rights holder David Richards; and Burns's former Peugeot boss Corrado Provera.

The service ended with a gospel versions of Burns's favourite songs to a large and long round of applause.