British Rallying has a new World Champion pairing with Welshman Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin adding their names to an exclusive list alongside Scot Colin McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer and Englishman Richard Burns and co-driver Robert Reid.
Evans ended a 25-year wait for another British WRC champion and becomes the first Welsh driver to win the title – having been runner-up an astonishing FIVE times in the last six years. Good things come to those who wait.
So, how do the title triumphs of the tri-nation legends compare?
McRae
BORN: Lanark, Scotland, 1968
Explosive, spectacular and charismatic, McRae was a young winner who became the UK’s first World Rally Champion at the age of 27.
The son of five-time British Rally champion Jimmy, McRae won the title in 1995, just four years after taking his first British crown. He put the family name – and British rallying as a whole – firmly on the global map, with Ringer the constant by his side.
In an eight-round season, they won two events – New Zealand and Rally GB – and claimed five podiums to pip Carlos Sainz (now father of the F1 driver) by five points. The Subaru pair sealed their success with victory on home soil in the Network Q RAC Rally.
Burns
BORN: Reading, England, 1971
Methodical, consistency-driven and persistent, Burns was runner-up twice before finally beating McRae in a famously tight 2001 campaign to take Britain’s second world title.
Introduced to the sport at a Welsh driving school aged 15, he was quickly hooked and formed an almost career-long partnership with Robert Reid in 1991. They won the British Championship in 1993 but had to wait eight years to triumph on the world stage.
In a season of 14 events, Burns won only once, but four second places proved crucial and he beat McRae by just two points. Like McRae, the pair were driving a Subaru Impreza and confirmed the crown on the Network Q Rally GB, finishing third.
Evans
BORN: Dolgellau, Wales, 1988
Patient, analytical and consistent, Evans finally became champion after a season spent consistently piling up the points.
The son of 1996 British Rally Champion Gwyndaf, he started competing professionally in 2007 and stepped up to the WRC in 2014. He was joined by Martin at M-Sport in 2019, they won their first WRC event the following year and have now taken the title six years on.
Their 13-round campaign included two wins and six podiums and they started the last round 17 points ahead in a 3-way title fight. It all went down to the last stage, where Oliver Solberg crashed just before the finish to leave Evans with the result he needed to take the title.
Head-to-head-to-head
As members of an elite group, each driver is a legend in their own right. All three clinched the title in the final round of the season – but each of them experienced very different championship campaigns.
McRae turned around a disastrous start to the season to end the year on flying form; Burns also started badly and had a rollercoaster run of ups and downs on his way to the crown; and Evans has been Mr Consistent, managing the modern-day scoring system to pick up the points he needed and keeping his cool to take the title.
Title seasons
McRae’s season: Ret – Ret – 3 – 5 – 1 – 2 – 2 – 1
Burns’s season: Ret – 16 – 4 – 7 – 2 – 2 – Ret – Ret – 2 – 1 – Ret – 4 – 2 – 3
Evans’s season: 2 – 1 – 13 – 34 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 5 – 6 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 5
McRae Burns Evans
Car Subaru Impreza Subaru Impreza Toyota Yaris
Events 8 14 13
Total stages 215 267 246
Stage wins 47 35 30
Rally wins 2 1 2
Win rate 25% 7.1% 15.4%
Podiums 5 5 6
Retirements 2 4 0*
Points 90 44 243**
Winning margin 5 2 5**
Title won Final round Final round Final round
* Evans finished 13th and 34th in two events
** Different points scoring system
Career Statistics
Evans still has plenty to add to his career account – including targeting a win at the inaugural Rally Scotland next year – but these are the overall scores in a comparison of British Rally legends… as it stands.
McRae Burns Evans
Starts 146 104 169
Titles 1 1 1
Runner-up 3 2 5
1st win to 1st title 2 years 3 years 9 years
Wins 25 10 13
Win rate 17.1% 9.6% 7.7%
Podiums 42 34 51
Podium rate 28.8% 32.7% 30.2%
Data has been compiled from various sources, with some variation on definitive statistics. Sources include Reuters, WRC/FIA-era championship records, juwra.com, RallyCars.com