- News>
- Motorsports
Burns neck-to-neck with Gronholm on eve of Rally of Australia
Australia, Sept 04: Richard Burns and Marcus Gronholm look ahead to The Rally of Australia. The world rally championship moves to Australia this weekend with series leader Richard Burns facing a treacherous task trying to hold on to his narrow advantage in the standings.
Australia, Sept 04: Richard Burns and Marcus Gronholm look ahead to The Rally of Australia. The world rally championship moves to Australia this weekend with series leader Richard Burns facing a treacherous task trying to hold on to his narrow advantage in the standings.
The ultra-consistent Briton has led the championship since finishing runner-up in the Rally of Turkey in March, despite not having won a race. But he is suddenly under pressure after his lead was trimmed to just five points when he finished third in Finland in the previous round.
With five rounds of the 14-race series still to go, the top six drivers are separated by just 12 points with 10 points up for grabs in each of the concluding rounds.
Burns, who announced two weeks ago he plans to leave Peugeot at the end of the season to rejoin Subaru, leads the title race with 49 points, but veteran Spaniard Carlos Sainz is closing in on 44.
Reigning world champion Marcus Gronholm is tied for third with Petter Sollberg on 38 points with Sainz's Citroen team mate Sebastien Loeb and Ford driver Markko Martin, who moved back into championship contention by winning in Finland, a point further behind.
The tight championship race means this year's Rally of Australia promises to be one of the toughest and closely fought yet, particularly given the new changes to the race. Normally held in October, this year's three-leg, 24-stage event has been brought forward a month to September 4-7, at the start of the Australian spring when the chances of rain are increased.
The gravel roads around the Western Australia capital Perth are already notoriously slippery but the threat of rain makes them even more dangerous, especially for Burns, who as championship leader will be the first driver to tackle the course.
Gronholm is an acknowledged master on gravel roads and has won the past three Australian rallies but will probably need to win again to keep himself in contention for the championship with most of the remaining races on asphalt.
The rally begins on Thursday night with a special one-lap shootout around the Gloucester Park trotting track in central Perth before recommencing in the forests south of Perth the next morning. It concludes on Sunday.
Bureau Report
The tight championship race means this year's Rally of Australia promises to be one of the toughest and closely fought yet, particularly given the new changes to the race. Normally held in October, this year's three-leg, 24-stage event has been brought forward a month to September 4-7, at the start of the Australian spring when the chances of rain are increased.
The gravel roads around the Western Australia capital Perth are already notoriously slippery but the threat of rain makes them even more dangerous, especially for Burns, who as championship leader will be the first driver to tackle the course.
Gronholm is an acknowledged master on gravel roads and has won the past three Australian rallies but will probably need to win again to keep himself in contention for the championship with most of the remaining races on asphalt.
The rally begins on Thursday night with a special one-lap shootout around the Gloucester Park trotting track in central Perth before recommencing in the forests south of Perth the next morning. It concludes on Sunday.
Bureau Report