Win pushes Burns into title contention

Burns, who won the Rally New Zealand today (Sunday), has moved to within nine points of joint-championship leader McRae with four rounds to go. The Scot shares his position at the top of the standings with Finn Tommi Makinen.

"There's still a good chance," said Burns. "We've seen here that rallies are decided by very small things."

The two British drivers scored a one-two in New Zealand, with McRae attempting on the final day to overcome the sizeable gap that Burns had opened up. Tension brewed between the pair after the event when McRae suggested that it had not been a fair fight.

That was because of the rally's nature. The loose gravel on the New Zealand stages makes it tougher for those who tackle them first, with the drivers starting lower down the order enjoying an advantage of roads swept clean by the first few cars.

With McRae higher up in the championship than Burns, he started ahead of the Englishman and suggested this was a big influence on the rally's outcome.

"[Richard's] won the rally, but he was hardly under a great deal of pressure today," said McRae. "It wasn't a fair fight."

But Burns hit back at McRae's suggestion. "It's nice to beat Colin - very nice," he said. "He's been trying to wind me up all morning. This shows that he should try to worry about himself more often. It goes to show that we couldn't have started this morning with any less of a gap."

By leading the rally, Burns was first on the road for the final leg, which gave McRae a chance to chase for the lead. But a spin on the penultimate stage marked the end of the battle.

"When we spun, I wasn't pushing anymore," claimed McRae. "We had already decided there was no way we could have done it."

With Makinen finishing out of the points in eighth, McRae's second place was still good enough for him to draw even in the points race with the four-time world champion. "Obviously it's a good step forward in the championship," said McRae. "We have to hope we get a good package of car and tyres for the next two rallies on asphalt."

Both Ford and Subaru could struggle against Peugeot, and also Citroen, which is returning to the series for the specialised tarmac events in San Remo and Corsica. But the Australian and British rallies that conclude the series will provide the perfect surfaces and conditions for a potential all-British shoot-out.


Tommi Makinen, 40
Colin McRae, 40
Richard Burns, 31
Carlos Sainz, 30
Harri Rovanpera, 27
Marcus Gronholm, 16
Francois Delecour, 14
Didier Auriol, 11
Freddy Loix, 9
Petter Solberg, 9

For full results from New Zealand, click here.