Richard Burns has pointed to Marcus Gronholm, as a major threat to his chance of becoming World Rally Champion. Burns will be competing with Colin McRae for home support, as the challenge for the title goes down to the wire, at the Network Q Rally of Britain.
But Burns fears Gronholm could be a greater threat than any of his rivals for the driver's title, because he is out of the race for individual glory. Instead Gronholm is competing for points in the race for the constructor's crown, and he fears that freedom could spur his rival on. Burns said: "Marcus was very fast when he won in Australia earlier this month and fast last year, faster than he needed be. Marcus will be more of a threat than we realise because he's got a lot less pressure as well. He's got to score points for the manufacturers' title but in the whole big scheme of things that isn't the biggest pressure in the world."
"It may not establish itself for the first few stages, but I think Colin and I will be at the front and it will remain very, very tight until something happens to one of us or we finish. But I think Marcus could be with us, and then I see a bit of a gap to Carlos and Tommi."
McRae leads the race for the driver's title by one point from Tommi Makinen, with Burns another point back. If one of these three wins the British Rally then they will be crowned the world champion, but if Gronholm wins, then all the drivers will have to get the calculators out, to work out who the overall champion is. Burns, victor at the British Rally for the past three years, said: "We have got to finish the rally so you have a choice to make about what risks you take. You have to judge whether they will be worth it."
Filed by John Raftery
