Remembering Richard Burns

In the world of rallying, if you were to play a Family Fortunes-style game and ask 100 people to name the greatest rally driver of all time, we’re willing to bet that pretty much all of them would shout out one name in unison: Colin McRae. That’s right, not Richard Burns. And who could blame them? The man was a force of nature. His raw speed, his uncanny ability to tame any car—no matter how wild—and his complete disregard for the word “fear” were nothing short of legendary. Colin McRae, the guy who, when in doubt, would go flat out, became Britain’s first World Rally Championship (WRC) champion at the tender age of just 27, making him the youngest ever champion at the time. Oh, and he’d already bagged the British Rally Championship title twice before that. No big deal, right?

His driving style was as flamboyant as it was thrilling—full throttle, full drama, and always with a flourish of flair that made spectators cheer and gasp in equal measure. As a result, the WRC, and rallying in general, reached new heights of popularity, securing McRae’s place not only as one of the greatest rally drivers of all time but as a bona fide motorsport icon.

But there’s another name that often gets overshadowed by the McRae spotlight. A driver whose career was tragically cut short, preventing him from leaving a similar seismic mark on the sport. This month marks the 19th anniversary of the tragic and untimely passing of Richard Burns and we feel it would be remiss of us not to honour one of the sport’s all-time greats, and on a personal note, one of our favourite drivers of all time.

The story of ‘Burnsie’ really begins back in ’88, after the young protégé convinced his father to let him join the Craven Motor Club following some pretty conclusive evidence that the boy could drive. It was here that he caught the eye of David Williams, a well-known rally journalist and clubman rally regular, affectionately nicknamed ‘The Man’ by his peers due to his encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport.

Richard’s funds were tight at the time and his Talbot Sunbeam lacked the competitive edge so he started borrowing various cars from friends until Williams stepped in and bought him a Peugeot 205 for the 1990 Peugeot Challenge—a competition Richard would go on to dominate.

His reward? The loan of a Peugeot 309 Group N machine for the RAC Rally. At just 18 years old, Richard finished third in class and 28th overall on his World Rally Championship debut, and his factory-driving debut. Not a bad way to make an entrance.

Following this blistering start to his WRC career, Richard returned to the Peugeot Challenge, but this time with a new partner: Robert Reid, who would become his co-driver until the end. A year later, the pair were given a shot in a Group N Prodrive Subaru Legacy for the Border Counties Rally, with further backing from Williams. Despite it being his first time in a 4WD rally car, he finished third, further evincing his natural talent behind the wheel.

Sadly, Richard missed out on the 1991 Shell Scholarship, losing out to Colin McRae’s brother, Alistair. But as frustrating as that was at the time, looking back, it was a pivotal moment in Richard’s career. Even though he was up against more competitive machinery, he secured his third championship in 1992, and his performances only got better from there, culminating in the offer of a two-year contract by Subaru in ’93, and we don’t really need to tell you what happened from here on out, do we…

The age-old debate of McRae vs Burns will always linger, and the question of who was better is one that will never have a clear answer. The truth is, they were polar opposites. To put it another way, think of McRae and Burns as the rallying equivalent of James Hunt and Niki Lauda. The dynamic was remarkably similar – both on and off the track, and while, for some at least, it’s an easier narrative to say they were fierce rivals, the reality is that they were close friends who respected each other immensely. In fact, Richard actually worked alongside McRae in 1992, helping to develop gravel notes with him. We don’t doubt there were occasional heated moments and strong words exchanged but there was always mutual reverence and admiration between the two, despite coming from different sides of Hadrian’s wall.

Colin, much like the aforementioned Hunt, was very much a “plant right foot, ask questions later” kind of guy. He was a supremely talented and exuberant driver, not one to shy away from risk. This often worked in his favour, but every so often, it also landed him on the wrong side of a hedge. Richard, on the other hand, was much more of a Lauda-esque character. He was all about the details. And when we say details we mean serious attention to detail. A calculated, dedicated, and single-minded man, Richard spent countless hours studying his own onboard footage in a relentless pursuit of speed.

This dedication was reflected in his approach to pace notes, too. While most teams used the traditional graded corner system (you know, all of that “long easy right” chatter), Richard Burns and co-driver Robert Reid took things a step further, breaking each corner down into entry, apex, and exit. Though this system was far more complex, it gave Richard a significant advantage, particularly in murky, foggy conditions. While other drivers struggled with limited visibility – and were understandably reluctant to throw the car into a blind corner – Burns had complete faith in Reid’s expertly crafted notes. Full send it was then. What a partnership!

It’s perhaps this obsessive attention to detail that kept Richard in the shadow of drivers like McRae. While Colin’s driving was like a Motorhead concert – loud, flamboyant, unapologetically fast, and sometimes a little unpredictable – Richard’s style was more jazz fusion. Smooth, controlled, deceptively quick and technical, though perhaps lacking the shock and awe factor of McRae’s style.

Richard’s focus was always on achieving maximum exit speed from a corner, which often meant minimizing the sliding theatrics that made his drives, at times, look comparatively unremarkable. But when you dig into the stage times the writing is on the wall – he was lightning quick. The simple truth is that, for media coverage, Colin was always the more obvious choice. His dramatic, all-or-nothing style made for better headlines, even if Richard’s steady pace was often more effective in the long run.

Then there was the other element: the hugely successful Colin McRae Rally game franchise, which mirrored Colin’s appeal to rally fans. It was accessible, entertaining, and easy to get into. On the flip side, the Richard Burns Rally game was a different beast entirely. Hugely technical, with a learning curve so steep it practically required a grappling hook. It was the kind of game that appealed to the hardcore drivers – those who wanted to dive deep into the details and perfect their craft.

That’s not to say Colin wasn’t talented – far from it. He was a genius in a car, a true master, and he remains one of the most influential figures in motorsport history, but Richard Burns, on the other hand, was hyper-focused on his race craft. Could he have been more exuberant? Sure. No doubt that would have brought him a little more of the spotlight, but for him, that would have been at the expense of speed. He wanted to be as technically perfect as possible – and for us at least, that makes him the best.

With a talent as profound as Richard’s, it’s impossible to say what could have been. Despite not securing a win with Peugeot in the tricky 206 during the 2003 season, his consistent podium finishes kept him firmly in contention for the title. That year, a contract with Subaru for the 2004 season, alongside the legendary Petter Solberg, promised to be the fresh start Richard so deserved – a chance to return to the top of the sport he loved.

But tragically, it wasn’t meant to be. On the way to the final rally of 2003, Wales Rally GB, Richard blacked out at the wheel. He was pulled from the event, and with that, his hopes of winning the 2003 championship were dashed. It was a heartbreaking moment in what had already been a difficult season, but far worse was to come. That day, as his career came to an abrupt end, it also marked the last time Richard Burns would ever sit behind the wheel of a car.

It was soon discovered that Richard was suffering from an aggressive brain tumour known as astrocytoma. Although he initially responded well to treatment, this would ultimately prove to be one battle he simply couldn’t win. True to his character, he fought with the same determination and spirit that had defined his career, but tragically, Richard passed away on November 25th, 2005, at the age of just 34, exactly four years to the day that he was crowned WRC champion.

His death came just days after he fell into a coma, leaving the motorsport world to mourn not just a brilliant rally driver, but a deeply admired and respected figure whose legacy transcended the sport.

Burnsie was known as a shy, yet altogether wonderful, funny human being – someone who was deeply loved by everyone fortunate enough to know him. To us, however, he remains at the zenith of rallying talent, a driver whose potential was limitless. It’s just desperately sad that we never got to see what came next, and what more he could have achieved in a career that was tragically cut short.