British rally driver death

He became the first Englishman to lead the WRC in following wins in Portugal, Kenya and Argentina, but was beaten to the title by Marcus Gronholm despite winning the final round of the championship, the Rally of Great Britain.

In he finally secured the world crown, despite starting the season poorly with just three points from his first four rounds. Second places in Argentina, Cyprus and Finland, helped move him up the standings but what would become his final WRC victory in New Zealand forced him into real title contention.

Burns then moved to Peugeot in but finished fifth in the title standings after five retirements and a controversial disqualification from the Rally Argentina with an underweight flywheel. Burns's final year of competition came in , again driving for Peugeot. Six podium finishes kept him in the title hunt until the final round in Britain, however he collapsed travelling to the event with Markko Martin.

He was diagnosed with a brain tumour and never drove again. Burns's early recollections of driving was when his father Alex allowed him to get behind the wheel of a Triumph in a field. At 11 he joined an under 17's car club which fuelled his interest, and at 15, Alex decided to take him to a Welsh rally driving school where was assessed.

Two hours later he emerged stating that he wanted to be a rally driver. By , Richard had been successful in minor motorsport events and entered a Peugeot into the national GTI challenge. Burns won the championship and was asked to drive a well-financed Group N Subaru Legacy in the Mintex National series. He finished second, and the car's current driver and his friend David Williams decided that Burns should drive the car instead for the remainder of the series, with which Burns won the championship.

When Burns came second in the event the winner was not entered into the series championship , Williams chose to run him for the remainder of the series.

His faith in was rewarded as he went on to win the Championship. In he started co-driving with Robert Reid, who he would compete with for the rest of his long career to win the world title in The Subaru WRC team said this morning they "express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of ex-team driver Richard Burns, who lost his long battle with cancer yesterday evening.

Burns's last public appearance came in August, when he made a surprise appearance at the RallyDay event, which took place at Castle Combe Circuit. Andrea de Cesaris on his F1 career. Foyt replaces Franchitti for Chicago. Allmendinger to do two Truck races. Breen: Hybrid power brings "third dimension" to WRC driving.

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Investigatory Tribunal for Targa deaths calls for submission. Van Gisbergen considering rally start. Tickets Subscribe. Sign in. Registration Sign in Facebook connect. All me. A popular figure with British rally fans, Brookes was able to run with the best of his day and his ongoing popularity is reflected in the social media tributes flowing out this week.

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