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RALLY: 55th Network Q Rally of Great Britain, End of Leg 3 - Final

24 November 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Richard Burns/Robert Reid driving a Subaru Impreza WRC have won the 1999 Network Q Rally of Great Britain.

Burns: "It's a fantastic result to be part of a Subaru 1-2. Everything has worked well for me: the car, the tyres, the mechanics and the whole team. It's fantastic to have so many people cheering you on, too. There were even fireworks on the hills at one point!

While Burns and team mate Kankkunen clearly lead the field, those behind them were having all sorts of dramas! The closing stages were incredible and no less that 6 leading drivers, all in the top 10, retired - Auriol run out of late time prior to the start of the final stage (SS22); Delecour retired with gearbox failure (SS22); Sainz retired with front suspension failure (SS21); Evans retired with engine failure (SS21); Makinen retired with engine failure (SS19) and Gronholm rolled heavily on SS19.

With Gronholm's retirement, Harri Rovanpera moved up from 4th to 3rd in the Seat Cordoba. This is the best ever result for Seat and for Rovanpera.

An amazing result also for the Skoda Octavia of Bruno Thiry. Thiry was the beneficiary of all the retirements and also of Radstrom's oil pressure problems and at the end of the rally he suddenly found himself in 4th position. This is Skoda's best ever result and is not bad for a team whose goal for the event was to make the top ten!

An interesting point is that there are 7 different manufacturers in the top 8 placing - testiment to the strength of the championship.

Provisional Results after Leg 3
Outright

1 Burns Subaru Impreza 3:53:43,3
2 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza 3:55:31,5
3 Rovanpera Seat Cordoba 3:58:39,5
4 Thiry Skoda Octavia 4:02:11,7
5 Loix Mitsubishi Lancer 4:03:19,5
6 Radstrom Ford Focus 4:03:47,5
7 Panizzi Peugeot 206 4:04:17,8
8 Martin Toyota Corolla 4:05:21,5
9 Solberg Ford Focus 4:06:54,0
10 Kahle Toyota Corolla 4:08:48,2

Group N
1 Ferreyros Mitsubishi Lancer 4:22:27,5
2 Tuthill Subaru Impreza 4:23:54,6
3 Cox Mitsubishi Lancer 4:25:57,4

2-Litre
1 Higgins.M VW Golf 4:15:37,0
2 Rowe Renault Megane 4:16:47,3
3 Kytolehto Vauxhall Astra 4:17:10,4

Teams Cup
1 Climent Subaru Impreza 4:11:57,8
2 Holowczyc Subaru Impreza 4:14:15,5

Editors Note: To view hundreds of hot racing photos and art, visit The Racing Photo Museum and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.