The 2001 World Rally Champion, Richard Burns, has died from the brain tumour that saw him retire from the sport at the end of the 2003 season.
The 2001 World Rally Champion, Richard Burns, has died from the brain tumour that saw him retire from the sport at the end of the 2003 season.
The former champion had 10 rally wins in his 13-year WRC career, which had included drives with Mitsubishi, Subaru and Peugeot.
Burns was diagnosed with a form of brain tumour in November 2003 and retired from WRC at the end of the season.
“From the outset Richard knew that the odds were heavily against him and yet he fought his illness with bravery and good humour. Having undergone both chemotherapy and radiotherapy he was able to leave hospital in summer 2004,” a statement on richardburns.com
said.
But his health later started deteriorating and he opted for surgery earlier this year to alleviate some of his symptoms. He remained active and even attended a parade of rally cars in August, where he was warmly received by the crowds.
He lapsed into a coma shortly thereafter and past away on November 25.
Burns gained a reputation as a rising star in rallying in the early 90s, and after several outings with Subaru, joined Mitsubishi in 1996 with whom he won his first WRC event in the 1998 Safari Rally.
He returned to Subaru in 1999 and narrowly missed out to Tommi Makinen for the title that year. Burns suffered a similar fate to Marcus Gronholm in the 2000 season, but he finally achieved his goal in 2001 after a season-long fight with the Peugeot driver.
He then moved to Peugeot to partner Gronholm without much success. Burns was planning a return to Subaru in 2004 when he was forced to sit out the final race of the 2003 season in Wales. A health problem, later diagnosed as Astrocytoma, was the reason given for his exclusion.
Another former world champion, Colin McRae has led the tributes to Burns.
“Richard was a friend and at the same time a very fierce rival,” McRae said. “We had many great battles together, notably the 2001 Wales Rally GB when he took the title.”
“I have seen Richard on a number of occasions during the past two years and the greatest battle he has put up was against his illness. Richard was a true character in the world of rallying and will be sadly missed as a competitor and as a friend to many people.
Subaru team boss David Lapworth said: “Richard was one of the key people who brought the Subaru World Rally Team to what it is today and a large part of our success comes from his input. Richard will be sorely missed by all at the Subaru World Rally Team, the WRC community and rallying fans across the world.”