Burns relishing African challenge

Richard Burns hopes a return to the scene of his maiden World Rally Championship victory will ignite his bid to claim a second title.

The world champion trails championship leader Marcus Gronholm by 18 points going into this weekend’s Safari Rally in Kenya.

But the Englishman hopes he can close that gap in the heat of Africa – and is counting on co-driver Robert Reid to give him the edge.

Peugeot racer Burns said: “That win was four years ago already, but I haven’t forgotten a thing about it.

“The Safari is a very specific rally but I’ve always felt comfortable in Kenya and I hope that will be the same this year. This will be my seventh visit, so I suppose it’s true to say I have a fair amount of experience of this event.

“A certain amount of experience helps, but it’s not indispensable. The way the weather turns just before the start can completely transform the state of the roads.

“Local knowledge is less important than on a classic rally where it is a distinct advantage to know exactly where you must place the car. More important in Kenya is mechanical sympathy, that is to say knowing just what you can ask of your machine.

“The Safari is also an event where the quality of the pace-notes you take with your co-driver really comes into its own.

“At the speeds we drive, visual references are few and far between and you can sometimes go for up to a kilometre at a time without any precise indications. You therefore have to be alert all the time, both to the track ahead and to the distance countdown read from the trip recorder.

“There are places where the notes indicate which part of the road you must use. For example, you might be able to stay flat if you keep left whereas ruts will soon stop you in your tracks if you stray to the right.”

Mitsubishi’s Alister McRae – brother of former champion Colin McRae – is excited about his first African adventure.

The Scotsman said: “I’m looking forward to the Safari. It’s a very different style of event, completely different from anything else.

“Driving such long sections and working with the spotters in the helicopter will be interesting as well, something I’ve never done before.

“It’s an event where outright speed is not necessarily important; the tactics are quite different and it’s a question of knowing when to push and when to back off. Having said that, it’s a challenging event and I’m ready for it.”