Motorsporrt: Burns bides time in new car

World champion Richard Burns heads back to the drawing board this week insisting he is still confident he has the car with which to successfully defend his rally crown.

The 31-year-old British driver’s campaign got off to a lacklustre and pointless start as he trailed home eighth on his Peugeot debut in the Monte Carlo rally which ended yesterday.

Burns clearly needs more time in the 206 WRC before he is confident enough to commit himself 100% on the stages.

But more worrying for Burns will be that team-mates Marcus Gronholm and Gilles Panizzi were also off the pace in a car which has won the manufacturers’ championship for the past two years.

Gronholm, the 2000 champion who ended last season on a winning roll, finished fifth but was comfortably overhauled by the Ford Focus of Colin McRae in the final stages while tarmac specialist Panizzi was seventh though he did hit time penalties.

Burns will not test the car again before the next round of the championship in Sweden starting on January 31, but will visit the Peugeot factory this week looking to find the improvements he needs.

‘‘There are areas where we can develop and improve the car,’’ said Burns.

‘‘It’s good to have got plenty of kilometres in the 206 under my belt, but clearly we couldn’t challenge over the weekend.

‘‘I’m still not totally comfortable with the 206 I haven’t really got enough confidence to commit to the throttle as early as I should. But that should come in time.

‘‘We’ll be working very hard in the coming weeks, but I already know the car is good enough that’s not an issue.

‘‘But I will turn up for the Swedish rally in a positive frame of mind. The test I did for Sweden went very well.’’

On the evidence of the first round of the 14-rally season, it is fellow Brit McRae who looks more capable of mounting a serious challenge for the driver’s crown he last won in 1995.

The 33-year-old Scot finished fourth, yet would have been third instead of team-mate Carlos Sainz but for an engine problem on the second day.

McRae is relishing the next round having already got some points in the bag, but is hoping the conditions turn for the worse in terms of the weather over the next week.

‘‘It’s thawing there at the moment which is not the best conditions for me. I hope it snows soon,’’ said McRae.

But both Brits will be looking over their shoulders at the ominous sight of four-times champion

Tommi Makinen, who has been rejuvenated by the move to Subaru replacing Burns having nearly quit last year after an unhappy time with Mitsubishi.

The Finn may yet be handed a record 24th career win and a record fourth victory on the Monte depending on the outcome of ‘‘winner’’ Sebastien Loeb’s appeal against his time penalty.

The stewards’ decision not to impose the penalty at the time after the illegal change of tyres on the Citroen car ensured a French driver with a Monte Carlo co-driver, won a rally that takes place in the French Alps in a French car. But the FIA court of appeal may well award the victory to Makinen.

If so, the 37-year-old would be top of the driver’s standings and on his early form would be confident of staying there.

‘‘The car and the team all work so well on the rally,’’ said Makinen.

‘‘If it feels like this for the rest of the year it will be a fantastic season.’’