Rally Britain 2001

Leg One

No less than four drivers had the chance of taking the World Championship title in the Rally of Great Britain. Colin McRae, Tommi Makinen and Richard Burns started the rally within three points, and should they all fail, also Carlos Sainz was there to grab the title, nine points behind points leader McRae. The rally started on Thursday evening with a super special run in Cardiff, which was won by Colin McRae.

The drama started already on the first real forest stage on Friday morning, as Tommi Makinen, cutting a corner normally, hit something on the side of the road, broke a bolt in the left-front suspension and lost a wheel. It was ether a case of extremely bad luck or defective bolt in the Mitsubishi, but Makinen's title hunt and his seven year career in the team ended there. The four time world champion moves to Subaru for next year. Subaru's Petter Solberg also retired on SS 2 with technical problems. Colin McRae was still in the lead, followed by Marcus Gronholm and Didier Auriol.

On SS 3 Carlos Sainz lost more than a minute with brake problems, so his slim chances of winning the title had gone, too. Yet another title contender was out on SS 4, as rally leader Colin McRae hit a bump inside a corner and rolled spectacularily, totalling the Focus. The drivers were unhurt. The title was now nicely available for Richard Burns, who had to finish fourth or better, so it was going to be a gruelling rally for the Englishman, who was third behind the Peugeots of Marcus Gronholm and Didier Auriol.

On the following stages Gronholm extended his lead, which was 36 secs after all the leg's eight stages. Didier Auriol lost time in the foggy conditions of the final stages of the day, so Burns moved into the second spot. Harri Rovanpera was now third in front of his Peugeot team-mate Auriol.

Leg Two

Marcus Gronholm continued his unbeatable pace on the Saturday morning stages and further increased his lead over Burns. On SS 11 Carlos Sainz slid wide in the muddy conditions, and hit a group of spectators standing on the outside of the corner. 13 spectators were taken to hospital, including a few children. Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt, and only four spectators were still in the hospital on Sunday evening, being treated for broken limbs. It seems the spectators were in a forbidden area, apparently because in the fog the cars could not be seen properly from official spectating areas. Whether there were marshalls, and if, why they didn't remove the spectators from the dangerous place, is being investigated. Because of the incident, the stage was stopped, and also the following stage was cancelled. Sainz was naturally upset by the accident, and retired, even though the drivers and the car were still ok. This also meant that Peugeot took the manufacturers' title this year.

The rally resumed for the final super special, SS 13. Gronholm's lead was already 1:25. Rovanpera was some twenty seconds behind second placed Burns.

Leg Three

2001 World Champs Richard Burns / Robert Reid. (Photo by SWRT)

The final leg consisted of four rainy stages. Rovanpera attacked, and got on SS 14 by Burns, who was taking it really carefully to make it the finish. No major dramas were reserved for the last stages, so Marcus Gronholm cruised to the finish to take his first Rally Britain win, with a bittersweet after taste, as the man of the moment really was Richard Burns, who took his first world championship title by finishing third in the rally. Alister McRae brought his Hyundai home in 4th spot, being followed by Armin Schwartz and Kenneth Eriksson, who, by the way, will swap drives next year.

Richard Burns' title was not won by spectacular victories, but reliability and sensible driving, which also are marks of a true champion. Next year we'll be in for a treat, as Burns will join the 2000 world champion Marcus Gronholm at Peugeot, provided that he can terminate his contract with Subaru, which had a clause to prevent Burns from leaving the team in case he won the title.

Results of Rally Britain:

1. Marcus Grönholm (FIN) Peugeot 3.23.44,8
2. Richard Burns (GBR) Subaru + 2.27,1
3. Harri Rovanperä (FIN) Peugeot + 3.15,4
4. Alister McRae (SCO) Hyundai + 6.48,8
5. Armin Schwarz (GER) Skoda + 7.31,3
6. Kenneth Eriksson (SWE) Hyundai +8.11,0
7. Didier Auriol (FRA) Peugeot + 8.21,1
8. Bruno Thiry (BEL) Skoda +10.55,6
9. Gregoire de Mevius (BEL) Peugeot +14.17,7
10. Toshihiro Arai (JPN) Subaru +15.06,4