Peugeot has completed the assembly of the most powerful driving team in the World Rally Championship by signing 30-year-old Briton Richard Burns.
http://www.worldrallynews.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1003230361,89024,Peugeot\'s line-up for the next two years will consist of Burns and Marcus Gronholm on all rallies, backed by Gilles Panizzi and Harri Rovanpera. All four have won World Championship rallies this year. Panizzi and Rovanpera will share the third works entry, but will drive test cars or 206s run by satellite teams when they aren¹t competing on their strongest events.
The announcement ends months of speculation and illustrates Peugeot\'s determination to win at all costs. In Burns and Gronholm, it has two drivers capable of winning in practically any conditions. Of the known opposition, only Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz at Ford possess a comparable blend of ability and experience.
"He has won a lot of rallies and he has a good potential to do a beautiful job with Marcus," said Peugeot Sport Director Jean-Pierre Nicolas, welcoming Burns to the team.
Burns said that he regretted leaving Subaru, for whom he has driven for the past three years, but said, "I want to be with a team that gives me as good a chance as possible of winning the World Championship and carrying on winning the World Championship".