Burns and Kankkunen continued to head SUBARU's lineup in 2000. In the Round 3 Safari Rally, Burns and Kankkunen achieved a 1-2 finish. In the Impreza WRC 2000's debut at Round 4 in Portugal, Burns showed overwhelming speed to take out the victory, and in Round 6 in Argentina, Burns was fastest, recording his third win of the season, while Kankkunen took fourth place. SUBARU now had a substantial lead over the second place championship contenders, and for the first time in five years it seemed possible that SUBARU might take out the double title, leaving its rivals behind.
However, beginning with Round 7 in Acropolis, a cog suddenly slipped. Burns retired three times in a row. In the Tour de Corse, San Remo, tarmac rally specialist Simon Jean-Joseph was appointed, but failed to live up to expectations. In Round 13 in Australia, Burns achieved second place and the Manufacturers' Title went to Peugeot.
Contenders for the Driver's Title had to wait until the final rally in Great Britain. Burns launched a counterattack from the second day, and achieved his best time with McRae. In the end, with McRae's retirement, Burns showed his mastery for the third consecutive year in a rally on his home territory, but Peugeotfs Gronholm finished in second place, and this result gave Peugeot/Grönholm the double title. SUBARU had, surprisingly, stalled in the middle of its fourth season run, and this time failed to achieve its double title dream.
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Richard Burns
