Richard Burns has lost his final challenge
Richard Burns' life came to an end Friday, November 25, 2005. The 2001 World Rally champion was diagnosed with a brain tumor in November 2003 forcing his retirement in WRC competition.
The ace rally driver fainted prior the the season's final event in Great Britain which ended his career on November 2nd. Burns' condition was determined to be an astrocytoma and the normal treatment for this form of a tumor is radiation.
In 2001, a celebration at the end of the Rally of Great Britain happened when Burns, also known as the "Lionheart", became the first Englishman to win the WRC title -- to this date, Burns still is the only rally driver from England to have taken the WRC championship.
Just weeks after the celebration, the Subaru World Rally Team took their former driver to court, leaving his future in the hands of fate London's High Court. Burns had announced prior to the rally in his homeland that he had signed a contract with the French-based Peugeot team for the 2002 season. According to the Japanese Subaru team, Burns was still under contract with them.
In mid-December of 2001, Burns and Subaru settled their dispute out-of-court. And just prior to the brain tumor announcement, Burns had signed a two-year contract to return to the Subaru team.
Burns' accomplishments in WRC started when he joined the Mitsubishi team in 1998 before moving to Subaru in 1999 where he remained for two seasons.
Born in Reading, England on January 17, 1971, the English rallyist was known for his consistency and speed. His first ride was at the tender age of eight when his father, Alex, let him drive an Triumph in the fields near their home.
It is with sadness that the World Rally community and the WRC fans bid farewell to the Englishman whose biggest battle in life became surviving -- a battle he lost yesterday.
