In the 2001 season SUBARU committed itself to the fully remodeled new machine, the Impreza WRC 2001. In addition to Burns, three more drivers were added --- Petter Solberg, previously of Ford, and Markko Martin, and Toshihiro Arai, to complete a four-driver lineup.
However, in the opening rally in Monte Carlo all vehicles were forced to retire, in Swedish Rally Solberg came sixth, in Portugal Burns finished fourth, and was seventh in Catalunya, in a continued slump.
However, as the midpoint drew nearer, a small ray of light shone into the SUBARU team. Burns recorded consecutive second placings in Argentina and Cyprus, and continuing at the Acropolis Solberg achieved second place for the first time in his carrier, while with Burns' second place finish in Finland, SUBARU began to show a return to form. Finally, in Round 9 in New Zealand, Burns achieved the first win of the season.
Viewed objectively, it was at this point that rivals Colin McRae of Ford and Tommi Makinen of Mitsubishi began to fall back. Burns and Impreza continued to accumulate points steadily, and before the final rally, retrieved the situation for getting the title. At the rally in Great Britain, McRae was on 42 points, Makinen was on 41 points, and Burns was on 40, an unprecedentedly narrow gap. Burns went on to give a reliable performance, while McRae and Makinen both retired on the first day. Burns achieved fourth place, earning three points and the won the Drivers' Title.
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Richard Burns
