The Richard Burns Foundation will have a major presence at Rallyday 2010 with Stig Blomqvist, the 1984 world rally champion, one of several star drivers set to get behind the wheel of a car belonging to the Richard Burns Collection.
Burns, who lost his brave battle with cancer in November 2005, four years after becoming England's only world champion rally driver, was a regular at the Castle Combe event and made his last public appearance at the Wiltshire venue in August 2005.
He will be remembered by a parade of his carefully maintained rally cars, which include the Subaru Impreza WRC he used to win the world title in 2001, and the Peugeot 205 GTI he drove during the formative years of his career.
Legend Blomqvist is one of six drivers taking part in the parade, which will also feature the Group A and Group N Subaru Legacys Burns campaigned in the National and British rally championships, the Peugeot 309 GTI he upgraded to following his stint in the 205, and the Peugeot 206 WRC he drove during his aborted 2003 world championship campaign, which was curtailed when he became ill. The other drivers assisting Blomqvist have yet to be finalised although Intercontinental Rally Challenge event winner Guy Wilks is set to pedal one of the machines.
The six cars will be on static display at the Richard Burns Foundation area in the Castle Combe paddock before and after the parade, where volunteers from the charity, which helps young people affected by brain cancer and other neurological disorders, by giving them the means to face the future with confidence, will be accepting donations. RBF merchandise will also be on sale and visitors to Rallyday purchasing a programme will be receive a £5 clothing discount on presentation of a voucher.
As part of the fundraising effort, the Richard Burns Foundation has teamed-up with Skoda UK Motorsport to auction off a passenger ride alongside Intercontinental Rally Challenge event winner Guy Wilks in a Skoda Fabia Super 2000.
"Rallyday always had a special place in Richard's heart and we're delighted to be working with the Rallyday organisers to put on display of the six cars that meant so much to Richard," said Zoe Scott, Richard's former partner and now a key member of the RBF organising team. "As well as bringing back some wonderful memories we are hoping to arrange more vital funds for the Richard Burns Foundation to help those suffering from brain cancer and other neurological disorders."
Rallyday takes place at the Castle Combe race circuit near Chippenham in Wiltshire on Saturday September 18. Visit the official website, rallyday.com, for more details.
Remembering Rallyday 2005 Richard Burns made his final public appearance at Rallyday in August 2005. A little more than three months later, he lost his brave battle with cancer and passed away aged 34.
One of the many highlights during that day in Wiltshire was a parade of some of Richard's favourite rally cars, including the Subaru Impreza WRC he and co-driver Robert Reid used to clinch the World Rally Championship title in 2001.
Burns was driven by Reid through the event's Feature Rally Stage in his BMW X5 followed by close friends Mark Higgins, Martin Rowe and the McRae brothers Alister and Colin, who took to the wheel of some of Richard's most cherished cars. It was an emotionally-charged occasion and prompted a standing ovation by the Castle Combe crowd.
"I've still got a picture on my office wall of me driving Richard with Richard's cars driving around behind us," says Reid. "You have some fantastic cars in that collection. A lot of people think the world championship-winning car was the best but in actual fact it was the 1993 Group A Legacy which we won the British championship with. It's such an awesome car and sitting watching Alister McRae driving it, we were team-mates with Alister, and spitting flames going off the line at Castle Combe really brought a very big smile to Richard's face and a bit of a tear to his eye."
Reid recalls the background to Richard's attendance at Rallyday. "Richard had periods during his illness when he was a bit better and then not so good. He'd been having a reasonably good period and it was an opportunity to take the whole car collection out and for Richard to come along as well and have a weekend out."
Zoe Scott, a constant source of love and devotion to Richard during his illness, also remembers that day with great fondness after being driven through the stage in Burns' Impreza WRC by the late Colin McRae.
"It was a day I will never forget," says Scott. "Richard was very nervous to face his fans because he knew he had changed somewhat due to his devastating illness. To have the response he got was so rewarding for him. There were few smiles during his illness, but this brought a smile to his face and a glimpse of normality. Richard was very, very proud."
Burns had visited Rallyday on a number of occasions and was also a regular at Castle Combe when, as a 14-year-old, he drove his father Alex's company car during training events organised by the Under 17 Car Club. The full version of this feature appears in the official Rallyday souvenir programme.
