Top Gear did a tribute to Richard when absolutely no-one else would, the untimely death of England's greatest ever rally driver was treated like an afterthought. Yet another example of why Top Gear is untouchable.
Which was a disgrace in and of itself; Best had been killing himself for years and wasted other peoples' livers while Burns had his life robbed from him by cancer.
***** I'm not sure if you're from the United Kingdom, But for us to have two great champions, Makes us very pound and with Richard Burns being the first Englishman to win the World Rally Championship back in 2001 is even better for me. Two great men taken way too soon from us at least god as two great champs and he will not lose to many rally's with them on his team.
+steven lamond I was just looking back at some of these comments and in this comment I put "worry" what I mean to put was "wrong" haha, spelling was never my strongest point.
I can not say that I see McRae is the same light as you. The guy was a brilliant driver, no doubt. But his hot rodding in a helicopter took not only his own life, but the life of a 5 year old, a 6 year old and McRae's friend. He was trying to show off and ended up killing a bunch of people. I have a very hard time celebrating an individual who took 3 other lives due to recklessness and over confidence.
the moment when jeremy said 'he's such a nice bloke, i miss him, badly' his voice and his facial expression changed just as he said 'i miss him, badly'. clarkson has feelings too.
People have been petitioning for a long time to get a statue of Richard erected here in Reading, where he's from, still waiting on it. Such a shame that when ever I mention his name nobody knows who he is
@@lou6977 Its sadly true. Would be nice if they did something. We have Ayrton Senna Way (or road, whatever.) But nothing to honour Richard who was from here.
@@joelbates8243 Richard was so humble, so out of the "mainstream" business, such a great guy, maybe the ideal "next door guy"... He deserved way more than a statue, in my opinion. And i'm not british, i'm italian, and i was a fan of Colin (still i am!)..great friend of Richard, so different personalities, but tons of respect between them. RIP both
I have no memories of this guy. Sadly he got the illness before I was born, so I never saw him race. When I was around 11, I stumbled across them rally highlights that WRC upload on RU-vid. They were pretty old, but you had to pay to see the new ones. My first rally I saw was New Zealand 2001. He defeated Colin McRae and I was like "Wow, this guy is amazing"! Fast forward 4 years and I started DiRT Rally, and was it became my ambition to become a rally driver. I looked up Richard on Wikipedia and was sadly shocked to see he died of cancer. I now saw all the other WRC highlights and the tribute WRC did to him 15 years after his death. He said once that the single most important factor that he got to become 2001 World Champion was dedication and determination. Then I bought a PC, and got his AMAZING rally game, which is even more realistic then DiRT Rally 2.0, which means I can practice more effectively under lockdown (I go to rally school. My Mum struggles for cash but she always leaves spare for rally school, which is so nice of her). I just wanna say thank you to this legend and I will make sure that he won't be forgotten. I hope other kids will learn about him because he is so underrated and a great guy. R.I.P
See if you can find footage of Richard in his 2000 WRC campaign. The Subaru proved unreliable which cost him in the end. But when it didn't break down, Richard would get into the groove and he was amazing to watch. I was lucky to see him in 2002 in Rally Finland when he was in the Pug.
Something that's haunted me for some time. I remember an interview with Richard after a rally stage where he hadn't done well at all, and he seemed distressed and kept shaking his head and saying something along the lines of "I don't understand, i couldn't concentrate" A short time later it was revealed he had a brain tumour . . . i don;t think he knew at the time.
Do you know where I can find something like that? I can't seem to find it on RU-vid, and I'm planning to make a video on Colin V Richard in 2001 and would like to put it in to show how he really wasn't acting like himself before he blacked out and you could see the effect of his tumour in hindsight...
The crucial moment was less than a week before the 2003 Wales rally GB when his brain failed during tests... The beginning of the sadness.. less than one month later they discovered the brain tumor. He left the world the same day he won the 2001 WRC....
You have to wonder how long his brain tumor affected his prior performances as his rallies before his last rally in Spain weren't great and of course the tumours don't grow overnight. RIP Richard who was a fantastic driver and a great overall package for any team and was good on any surface.
@@lotusraptos You might be able to find it on the WRC RU-vid channel. They have the seasons highlights from 2000-2003 (when Richard was diagnosed with cancer) on there :)
The fact that he came to the last Rally of the 2003 season with chances of winning the championship after probably having the tumour after mid season speaks how a great driver he was
I felt more sorry for Richard Burns than I did for George Best. A man who threw it all away and died because of his own reckless lifestyle where-as Richard died through no fault of his own at 34.
Clarkson does my head in frequently, but that little memory of Richard Burns was really sweet. Grew up watching him, an absolute hero, thrilling to watch him drive.
@@Simon-nk7ji very mature Simon. The only thing you could blow is smoke up your own ass thinking you could even insult me. I guess little children can't process or create a response that could even seem even slightly positive. Better luck next time Simon.
Richard burns was my favourite ever since I was little, he won the first ever rally I watched on tv, from then on he was my number 1. I have always got the impression though that he was always overshadowed by my other favourite driver who also happens to have suffered an untimely death, colin mcrae. As in so many cases, both of these included. The star that shines twice as bright lives just half as long. Rip
I remember watching the final stages of Wales Rally GB where he was in contention to win the WRC The concentration on RBs face in those moments is as something quite unparalleled Nearly 20 years later it’s still quite raw, so young too
"You're the best in the world"- These word, spoke by Richard to Robert Reid at the end of the 2001 Rally GB, are the synthesys of his humanity, humbleness and class and they will remain for ever in my mind.. We will miss for ever Richard, you're so beloved here in Italy as well
Completely agree, says everything you need to know about Burns that having just achieved his dream and the greatest achievement any rally driver could aspire to, he was still completely self-effacing. Such a cruel thing to happen to one so humble and kind.
RIP Richard, 7 years ago today. One of (If not the first) memories i have is "We're the best in the world!!!" when i was 3 and 3/4. Thanks for inspiring me to attempt to become England's second world rally champion :'(
i miss him so much...he was such great human and driver...i met him once in the Acropolis race and he was such a pleasat person...always smiling...really sad that he left so young...rest in peace richard and farewell...
Richard was an all round top bloke and is sadly missed by the Irish rallying community ! i watched him progress up through the ranks to achieve his goal. was lucky to meet him once and its a shame hes gone but we were blessed to have seen him fly through the stages.
Miss Richard and Colin. The Wrc has never been the same for me ever since. Rest in Peace, my heroes. 5 years, 10 years , 50 years, they will never ever be forgotten. Kjetil Norway.
Moment when his rally game achieved adulthood this year, and this year being the biggest in terms of this game development and progress, and its a thing he left for many generations. Unbeatable, no Dirt or wrcG can come close, despite RBR2 could never been made.. Fuck, thats a big legacy as well!
When i was just a puppy, Burns was my idol and McRae. I hope they're still burning rubber up there! racing will never be the same again, the good old days.
Everytime I hear the word "rally" or anything else that has to do with it the same thing comes to my mind. Me watching wrc with my father and hope that the guys wearing blue will win. And Richard Burns has a special place in my heart, he is actually a part of my teen years. R.I.P
Top Gear just did an excellent film about the 1995 championship last night. That got me thinking about the amazing four way battle for the championship in 2001 where Burns, McRae, Sainz and Tommi Makinen went into the last round with a chance to win the world championship. Such a great time to be 11 years old and a rally fan.
never let stress get to him like in the 2001 rally gb, mccrae was winning up until he rolled and put his car into a ditch, richard had a methodical and calm driving style but he was also fast when need be, a true rally legend
i was always a Colin McRae fan but i respected Richard Burns and know both of them are no long with use. long live the WRC and long liver there memories
