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| |  Sunday, 25 November, 2001, 13:58 GMT Burns wins world title Reid and Burns celebrate the world rally title Click here for final results Richard Burns has become the first Englishman to win the world rally title. He clinched the championship on Sunday by finishing third in the Network Q Rally of Great Britain, a race marred by a crash which injured 13 spectators. Subaru driver Burns needed to finish fourth or better in the race to be crowned champion.
Finland's 2000 world champion Marcus Gronholm won the British rally for the first time in a Peugeot. Gronholm was two minutes and 27.1 seconds ahead of compatriot and team-mate Harri Rovanpera. Reading-born Burns will officially become champion when he makes the 20-mile trip from the final stage at Margam to the formal finish in front of Cardiff's City Hall. He triumphed despite winning just one of the 14 rounds - in New Zealand. A consistent late-season run brought 29 points in the last six events. Burns said: "It is a shame we could not win the rally, but after the first day all I was thinking about was the championship.
"We have been so close for the past two years and we had a terrible first half of the season, but the second half has been just fantastic. "There was a massive amount of pressure on myself and all of us before this rally "It becomes high risk so it is a relief to come through." The Andorra-based driver had been championship runner-up for the past two years. On Sunday, he safely negotiated the four remaining special stages, totalling 67 miles, in the muddy south Wales forests. The third-place finish gave Burns 44 points, two ahead of Colin McRae and three over Tommi Makinen. McRae, the 1995 champion, and four-time champion Makinen crashed out of the race on Friday, leaving Burns with a clear shot at the title.
Burns is set to join Peugeot in a �4.5m deal next year but could face a tug-of-war with Subaru who have said that they have an option in his contract to retain him should he become champion. "The contract is a private matter," said Subaru team principal David Lapworth on Sunday. "We are enjoying the moment and are ready for a party tonight. We will be discussing the future with Richard this week." The Rally of Great Britain was overshadowed by a serious crash on Saturday which left 13 spectators needing hospital treatment. Spaniard Carlos Sainz's car veered off the road and into a spectator area on the 11th stage in west Wales. Four people were detained in hospital overnight, with nine others released after treatment to minor injuries. Final positions after Stage 17: 1 M Gronholm (Fin, Peugeot) 3hrs 23mins 44.8secs 2 H Rovanpera (Fin, Peugeot) at 2mins 27.1secs 3 R Burns (Gbr, Subaru) at 3:27.00 4 A McRae (Gbr, Hyundai) at 6:48.8 5 A Schwarz (Ger, Skoda) at 7:31.3 6 K Eriksson (Swe, Hyundai) at 8:11.0 7 D Auriol (Fra, Peugeot) at 8:21.1 8 B Thiry (Bel, Skoda) at 10:55.6 9 G de Mevius (Bel, Peugeot) at 14:17.7 10 T Arai (Jpn, Subaru) at 15:06.4 Stages 11 and 12 scrapped after spectators injured in crash. | |
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