I know that he signed to drive for Peugeot next year, but.......

Somebody on Special Stage mentioned that if Burns won the Driver's Championship (which he did) Subaru could option his contract for another year.

If so, that means we would have Burns AND Makinen next year and that would be awesome!

Can anyone confirm/deny this?

No, you dont say? (http://www.i-club.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=117831) :p

Would he want to stay? I'm unaware as to why he is leaving (contract up, unhappy?). And does Subaru want him. Tommi is a first rate driver as everyone knows.

There is a story on speedvisions site about a contract dispute with subaru. The jist of it is that Richard might be with Subaru next year.

http://www.speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/rally_off_road/011126a.html

Oh forgot to ask what do you think will happen with makinen if richard stay's?

I don't think Subaru wants an unhappy driver representing them. If he does stay then I would imagine that Burns and Tommi will battle it out for top driver with Solburg taking third.

Burns most likely will go to Pug, as he has already intended to leave Prodrive. Prodrive has the 1st option on his contract if (SINCE) he wins the WRC. BUT, that just means they get first crack at him, and he still has to consent to the arrangement, which he seems to have no intention of doing, especially since he's signed something or other with the Frogs. David Lapworth has been quoted as saying they're trying to make Burns as attractive an offer as possible, but they know he can't be forced to sign, so it hangs in mid-air for him. I see him in silver pyjamas...

If he were to stay, it'd most certainly mean co-#1 status w/Tommi, 3 or 4 Prodrive cars per event, and a major threat for a Subaru Driver and Manufacturer's title in 2002. That' s what I'd like to see, but that lives on a long-ass list entitled "Not Bloody Likely" , right next to a Great Britain national side (Football), and the dissoloution of CARB.

I dont think he'd get co #1 status. I think he'd be #2 behind The Man. And I think that's why he's not staying, his head is too big to play 2nd fiddle.

Why would he be having a big head if he wanted the #1 spot on the team. I mean he is the current World Champion! I love Makinnen and I am tickled that he is with SWRT, but if Burns stays I'm not sure who should get top billing. Something like with the Ford team this year. Colin and Carlos were pretty close and there weren't any team orders issues like the year before. The only wrinkle I see (besides Burns own motives) is ca$h. Is FHI, Prodrive or whoever willing to fund these two's salaries and four cars for the season? Do these teams have any kind of cap or anything?

Plain and simple, obviously the guy who won 3 consecutive championships is a little more deserving of it than the guy who has only won one. Tommi isnt out of his prime yet. He had to deal with a crap car for the second half of the season and still almost won the championship. I dont think there's much of question that he would have won it if they stayed with the 6.5

Subaru's team principal, David Lapworth, said: "Richard's contract is a private matter between him and Subaru. We'll be discussing the future with Richard this week.

"There is a contractual relationship in place between ourselves and Richard next year, and we would love him to stay. But he has to want to. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Our objective is to persuade Richard to stay. You would have thought winning the title would have been enough," he added.


taken from wrc.com

The factories hire Motorsport teams (Prodrive, M-Sport, etc.) to run their race programs, so teams have support, input , and in Prodrive's case, sponsorship from the Factory. Prodrive, especially in comparison to the other WRC efforts, is HUGE, they have deep pockets, from their sales of gearboxes, customer cars, etc. Keep in mind they are usually podium-level performers in whichever series they compete in (BTC, FIA GT). The teams hire the drivers, and if anybody can run four cars, Prodrive can.

it'd be kinda weird to have makinen and burns on the same team though...

Originally posted by nqwan
it'd be kinda weird to have makinen and burns on the same team though...

it would be awesome! kinda like having Kobe and Shaq. Subaru would be unstoppable.

now if they could just get Colin McCrae back!

:devil:

kinda like having Kobe and Shaq

:lol: :lol:

Who's Kobe and who's Shaq?

kobe tai?

Prodrive also manufactures production parts and does contract engineering for a bunch of other auto manufacturers...

jmullen
even better
my fav :devil:

Burns' contract with Subaru states that if he becomes World Champion, they can exercise an option to retain his services or be compensated for that loss in cash (minimum £600K up to £5 million). He signed for Peugeot in the middle of the year when it looked like he had more chance of being named Britains most humble man than winning the championship. As it turned out, rather ironincally as he wanted to sign for a team who would give him a better chance of winning the title, he took the honours and now Subaru, unsurprisingly want their compensation.

They have said that they cannot force him to drive a Subaru next year, but his contractual obligations are quite clear. As Peugeot could be deemed to have signed for his services in good faith, they may not be held liable to cough up said compensation, so Subaru could perceivably persue Burns personally for the compensation. Oops!

Either way, it ain't gonna be pretty and could end up in court, which might conceivably mean that Burns is not able to start his defence of the title until the matter is settled.

Should be interesting.

IMO, I don't think he could keep up with Gronholm, and Tomii will want number one status, so I think Mr Burns may well have a slightly less happy year next year whatever the outcome.

Geezer

Originally posted by y2k4door
Plain and simple, obviously the guy who won 3 consecutive championships is a little more deserving of it than the guy who has only won one. Tommi isnt out of his prime yet. He had to deal with a crap car for the second half of the season and still almost won the championship. I dont think there's much of question that he would have won it if they stayed with the 6.5

Actually, Makinen is the proud owner of 4 straight Driver Titles. Yeah, I totally agree that if Mitsubishi would have stuck with the "old" car instead of moving to the "Lancer World Rally," Makinen would have won his 5th title in 6 years. He only ended up 3 points out, after all. Those multiple DNF's at the end of the season really hurt him.

I also agree with Geezer in that Burns is probably going to be the #2 driver whether he stays at Subaru or goes over to Peugot. Gronholm is a heck of a lot more consistent than Burns is and even I could even see Rovanpera taking the 2 spot if Burns wasn't performing well. Remember that only 2 drivers can be selected in each rally to earn the team Manufacturer points. Maybe Burns could throw everyone for a loop and decide to sign with Citroen or Skoda instead, just so he'd be the #1 driver! :p

I'll be very interested to see what happens in the coming weeks.

ah yes, 4, sorry. damn laptop keys are too small.

Remember, Burns came from Mitsubishi because he didn't want to be the # 2 driver under Makinen any longer.

Tom

but why would he be unhappy with subaru...

thats why i like Barrichello's attitude... i maybe number two... but i'm number 2 of the best.......

What is the cutoff date for this decision to be made ? I of course am assuming that there is a cutoff date.

this may be a real dumb question but will he just put the number 1 plate on the 206? it is the drivers award but that would be strange to see it on a car he didn't win it in

Maybe he'll put it on his Camaro :lol:

^
|
|
|

Hahahah! :lol:

/mel

Watched the BBC review interview with Burns and Reid today on TV.

This matter is now in court and Burns could not comment on it.

The real interesting thing for me though was that he can't go test drive EITHER car until the matter is settled!!!! Thats a real big issue for a driver going to a new car/team in particular. Only 8 weeks to Monte Carlo remember!

The way i read it Burns will end up driving for pug but it will cost him money BIG TIME and he will start the season at a disadvantage to Gronholme. Richard signed a two year deal and his pay this year was based on that deal, Subaru want some of that money back plus compensation for him breaking his contract.

Personally i think Burns is going to Destroy Gronholme and everyone else next season in the 206. Richard has matured beyond recognition as a driver and we havent yet seen a top driver at his prime drive the 206 yet. From what i have seen of the cars on stage the 206 is the daddy, it's a perfect design for both weight distribution, wheelbase and polar moments of inertia.

The 206 as standard doesnt actually meet WRC car regs, it's too small, thats why it has those funny looking extended bumpers to make it long enough, bit of a cheater alowed by the FIA for pug to compete!

Bear in mind Gronholme is pretty crap on tarmac, Richard is no expert but he isnt slow either on that surface, if he uses his head he will win the championship by a huge margin i believe.

I was amazed at what Colin did on the NetworkQ, he lost the plot big style, pushing way too hard from the outset, i think Burns has him rattled which is something i never thought i would say.

Richard is not the same "Driver" as he was when he ran #2 to Makinen, he is the complete article now, he deserves the respect of a true world champion.

He does still come accross as arogant but listening to him on the NetworkQ he seemed more Human, maybe he is maturing on the PR front too. :lol:

On the car # front, whichever car Richard drives will be #1, the number goes with the driver. You guys may remember the Williams F1 car running #0 when prost and Mansel left the sport after becoming world champion.

John, tell me where to send the check, I decided instead of subscribing to Autosport next year, I'll just send my money to you for weekly updates :lol:

Good info.

FWIW, WRN is reporting a source close to Prodrive is saying that $10,000,000 US dollars will "set him loose".

If Prodrive and Subaru do manage to keep him, wonder what the feelings will be like around the team since Burns has already stated he wanted to leave?

I take Paypal. :lol: