FIA RALLY: Burns wins 56th Network Q Rally of Great Britain; Gronholm wins Championship

27 November 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

Richard Burns won his third successive Rally GB but it was not enough to stop Marcus Gronholm becoming this year's FIA World Rally Champion, adding the drivers' crown to the manufacturers' title secured by Peugeot in Australia. Burns had to win this event to have any chance of snatching the title but Gronholm was strong enough not to crack. He needed only to finish in the top five to take the title but second place served to underline his astonishing rise throughout 2000 from a driver with no WRC wins and not even a full programme of events to a convincing and popular FIA World Champion.

Subaru

Richard Burns has done everything he needed to win the FIA World Championship but, as Marcus Gronholm finished in the points it was not enough to steal the crown. Nevertheless, Burns joins the great Erik Carlsson and Timo Makinen as only the third driver to take a hat-trick of wins on this event. Before the start Burns admitted, " If I can't win the World Championship then joining that famous club is the next best thing." Of the stages themselves today, Burns said, You have to stay right in the middle of the road. It's not the best line but there's a thin film of mud on the surface that means it's so hard to find any grip at all." Team mate Petter Solberg retired from the rally after he hit a tree 300 metres from the end of SS16, resulting in an engine fire.

Peugeot

Marcus Gronholm seemed remarkably relaxed this morning, putting to the back of his mind the fact that he needed only to stay on the road to win the FIA World Championship. He was in the tense situation of only being able to lose the series, rather than having any specific task to achieve in order to win it. "I'm taking no risks," he said. " It's far too slippery for risks!" He was able to pace himself superbly during the day and second place was enough to bring an emotional title for a driver who refused to even think about the championship until after the final stage!

Mitsubishi

Tommi Makinen got off to a slow start this morning and, briefly, looked to be threatened by Juha Kankkunen for fourth place. "We were trying to be fast and safe at the same time but we didn't find the right speed," he admitted. However he then went fastest on the next stage to put distance between himself and Kankkunen while passing Carlos Sainz for third with fastest times on the final two stages.

Ford

Carlos Sainz declared this morning's first stage to have been the most slippery of the entire event. After his public demise at Margam two years ago he was best equipped to know what was going on in Gronholm's car. "There's a fine balance between driving quickly enough to set good times and driving to quickly and going off the road. It will be an interesting final stage!" Tapio Laukkanen's rally came to an end in Trawscoed. Just 1km into the test the Finn slid into a ditch, one of the few where there were no spectators to help, and he had to abandon the rally.

SEAT

It was a sad moment for SEAT as the curtain came down on this event for the fun-loving Spanish team is withdrawing from the FIA World Championship. Didier Auriol's engine was sounding rough last night but the Frenchman kept it going today. He did however, have a big moment on SS15. "We hit the brakes on a patch of mud and slid for nearly 60 metres with the engine stalled. I was fighting the car to keep it on the road," admitted a very relieved Auriol. Team director Vicente Aguilera said, "Taking part in the WRC has helped to improve our brand image around the world and we are very proud of this within SEAT Sport. We are sad to close this period in our history but at the same time we start a new one which is just as exciting and important with new projects and a fresh motivation."

Hyundai

Alister McRae admitted that this has not been his best Rally GB but was confident of making the finish to round off Hyundai's first season with the Accent WRC. He was just denied a spot in the top 10 but there is little doubt that the car has shown considerable promise this year. An announcement about the team's 2001 line-up is expected shortly.

Skoda

After two days of rain, Armin Schwarz was complaining about the sun this morning! "It's very low and dangerous," he said. "Still, it's nice to see it for the first time this event!" Schwarz went into the final stage lying 13th, two places and almost five minutes clear of team mate Luis Climent who loses his place in the team for 2001 to Bruno Thiry who was fourth on this event last year. Climent was slightly lucky to even make the finish as his Octavia completed the final stage with only three-wheel drive.

Other teams

Manfred Stohl secured the FIA Production Cup with a start to finish victory in Group N. His only rival for the title, Gustavo Trelles, was already well behind before he suffered two punctures on a stage yesterday. It netted a huge time loss, made worse by the rule that Group N cars are not allowed the anti-deflation inserts that are de rigeur on the Group A cars. Mark Higgins won Formula 2 from Sebastien Loeb with Olivier Marty third.

Tyre facts:

Michelin: Second place for Marcus Gronholm clinched the 2000 championship for Marcus Gronholm, two weeks after Peugeot secured the manufacturers championship in Australia. The Rally GB result takes Michelin's score to a record 30 world crowns (15 drivers' and 15 manufacturers' in the past 10 years), a clear pointer to the team's commitment at the sport's highest level.

Pirelli: Once again Pirelli crews chose the KM6 pattern tyre that has been the sole choice for the conditions on this event. Throughout the rally Pirelli claimed 8 stage wins en route to its 117th World Championship rally victory.

Outright

1 Burns Subaru Impreza WRC 3:43:01,9
2 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:44:07,5
3 Makinen Mitsubishi Lancer 3:44:16,9
4 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 3:44:35,4
5 Kankkunen Subaru Impreza WRC 3:44:48,8
6 Delecour Peugeot 206 WRC 3:44:50,4
7 Martin Toyota Corolla WRC 3:46:26,3
8 Panizzi Peugeot 206 WRC 3:46:37,5
9 Auriol Seat Cordoba E3 WRC 3:47:29,4
10 Rovanpera Seat Cordoba E3 WRC 3:48:12,0

Group N

1 Stohl Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4:07:45,3
2 Backlund Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4:09:30,8
3 Harkki Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4:13:11,3

Formula 2

1 Higgins Vauxhall Astra Kit Car 4:27:08,0
2 Loeb Citroen Saxo 4:31:25,1
3 Marty Peugeot 106 S16 4:33:25.1

Text Provided By FIA

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