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You are in: Special Events: 2000: Rally of Great Britain |
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Saturday, 25 November, 2000, 03:39 GMT
Burns optimistic in face of disaster
Richard Burns has had problems with his Subaru
World championship-chasing Richard Burns is still confident he can win the Network Q Rally of Great Britain despite a disastrous second day on the event.
British driver Burns damaged his suspension after hitting a rock on the first bend in the Welsh mountains as he tried to make up the gap to championship leader Marcus Gronholm at the start of the second day on Friday. Gronholm ended the day second to Scot Colin McRae in his Ford. The Finn only needs to finish fifth in Britain to guarantee the crown, while Burns has to win the event to have any chance of lifting the world crown for the first time.
The Oxford-based driver lies in fifth position and is almost 39 seconds down on Gronholm. But Burns is still confident that he can win the rally. "I am not worried. I can make up the time and am determined to get it back," said Burns. "There are still two days left and Saturday is the big day. Anything can happen, as I found out this morning." Even then, though, Burns is relying on his competitors to keep Gronholm out of a title-winning position. Burns finished the section with his left rear wheel sticking out at an angle - he was forced to hammer the part back into shape before continuing. Spain's Carlos Sainz is third in his Ford just ahead of world champion Tommi Makinen in the Mitsubishi. Uncharacteristic The rally resumes in Cardiff on Saturday morning with the drivers facing another 103 miles in special stages in south and west Wales. Burns, who was expected to excel in the treacherous Welsh forests, made an uncharacteristic error leaving him in 21st position at the start of the day. To compound his agony, Gronholm's performance was improving with every stage and with just two tests of the day left, the Peugeot man was leading by 17.5 seconds from Scotland's Colin McRae. Dropping out Burns first hit trouble a few miles into the 8.5 mile St Gwynno stage. "I made a mistake," explained the Oxford-based driver. "I went too close to the inside of one corner and hit the rear wheel." He dropped half a minute to tumble out of the top 20 and looked in danger of dropping out of the rally itself as his wheel protruded at a 45 degree angle. That was not the end of his problems. On stage five, Burns spun at the first junction and as the field headed to the service area for the second time, he was 65 seconds behind Gronholm.
McRae also spun in the same place as Burns, and after he had topped the standings early in the day, the three-time winner slipped off the pace of Gronholm, who was producing a sparkling display. The 32-year-old from Espoo, a revelation this season, felt there was even better to come, despite setting the three fastest times. "I don't have quite the right feeling yet for these stages," said Gronholm. "They are very slippy and I'm still getting better."
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See also:
23 Nov 00 | Rally of Great Britain
24 Nov 00 | Photo Galleries
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