We'll stick our neck out for Burns, says Subaru boss

Speaking on the eve of the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of what looks set to be the most closely-fought World Rally Championship ever, Prodrive Rally Team Principal David Lapworth said that a title for Burns was the team's sole priority - even to the exclusion of bringing a makes' title to the Japanese marque.

"The strategy for this year is to make Richard Burns champion and win as many rallies as we can - simple as that," said Lapworth. "We're not going to get caught up in the finery of the manufacturers' championship."

Highlighting that 'drivers' crown or bust' approach, Subaru has shunned a dependable, regular points-scorer for its second car in favour of young guns Petter Solberg and Markko Martin, two rising stars who are tasked with gaining experience on this year's championship, rather than merely driving for a finish.

But with Ford, Peugeot and a re-focussed Mitsubishi all set to be major rivals to Subaru and Burns' title aspirations, Lapworth believes the Englishman and his team must be on maximum attack from the start.

"We want to stick our necks out," he said, "take some risks and set some new standards for performance."

Burns, Martin and Solberg will give Subaru's new-shape Impreza its WRC debut on the Monte. Although outwardly it is significantly different to the previous Impreza, Lapworth says that under the skin it is a culmination of two years of continuous development

"It's a big step forward with the car," he said. "We've worked like hell for the last two years to get this car on this rally. We've built a car that we think we'll be able to build on for the next two or three years."

But however well prepared a team is for the event, the deciding factor on the Monte is often who gambles correctly on the best tyre combinations for the mixture of conditions encountered in the Alps. Burns, however, believes that intensive recent testing has reduced his margin for error on rubber choice.

"I drove the car for three more days last week and I've got a pretty good feeling," he said. "It was completely reliable during the test and we've gone through every permutation of tyres that we can think of."

Burns was pipped to the 2000 title by Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm, despite matching the Finn on four victories and taking the fight to the final round. This year, the Englishman expects the fight to go all the way to the wire once again, but with a wildcard thrown into the mix - new Peugeot signing Didier Auriol.

"Pretty much everyone who was in the thick of it last year will be in the thick of it this year," he said, "but with the addition of Didier. I'm expecting him to bounce back after a bit of a lean time last year. We've certainly got a fight on our hands."

After formalities at the Casino Square start ramp this evening, the event's 60 starters will be put in parc ferme overnight, before beginning the first of three legs in earnest tomorrow morning. The rally finishes in Monte Carlo on Sunday afternoon.