Richard Burns to Miss GB!

Richard Burns to Miss GB!From Chris Biewer [ 03/11/2003 ].
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You see the back end of Richard Burns' car damaged on the photo on the right and you will experience that Richard also is highly likely to fall off the back end of this year's championship. In all likelyhood Mr. Consistency will not appear at his home event in GB. This is a big blow as Richard Burns was one of 4 contenders left with a chance to clinch the World drivers title coming weekend. But the number of contenders in the title fight has now been reduced to 3 when Richard Burns was taken to hospital on Sunday night. Richard fainted for no apparent reason. There is no diagnosis made public yet, but doctors advised that Richard Burns should not take the start of the rally and he has also missed the start of the recce on Monday morning.

Richard has lead the drivers championship most of the year and still in with a shot on his home event, the news comes as a huge shock. We wish Richard all the best and comiserations.

This means that Richard will be fit to take the start of the final round of the 2003 championship is so unlikely that we basically can confirm now that his season and his Peugeot drive came to a premature end.

This also seems to be clear to the Peugeot team. Freddy Loix and Sven Smeets in turn had a rather pleasent surprise in the light of recent Hyundai disaster as the pair had been ordered to start the recce for Rally GB. Subject to FIA confirmation Loix and Smeets will start their Peugeot career early and will replace Burns and Reid in GB. The rules state that the 1st and the 2nd driver of each 3 car team cannot be changed, but there is a force majeure clause and this is installed exactly for cases like illnesses as we have now.

Nevertheless this is bad news for Peugeot's makes title hopes, where Peugeot is trailing Citroen by 5 points. Freddy Loix does meanwhile have experience in a Peugeot 206 WRC, but this is from a tarmac test. Freddy was scheduled to compete in the final Belgian Championship event, the Rally du Condroz, the weekend after the Rally GB to gain hist first competition experience in a Peugeot 206 WRC. Now Freddy is suddenly thrown in at the deep end - with no competition mileage in a Peugeot under his belt yet, Freddy and Sven are supposed to help Peugeot clinch the makes title this weekend!

As far as Richard Burns goes, a Peugeot Sport statement declared: "Doctors will give an update today on their diagnosis and the seriousness of his state of health. From now on they have already declared that Richard Burns will not be authorized to recce and to enter the Network Q Rally of Great Britain which will take place next weekend. The entire Peugeot Sport Team express its solidarity and wishes Richard a prompt recovery."