He started driving in field near his house at the tender age of 8 in his fathers old Triumph 2000. At 11 Richard joined an under 17's car club, where he became driver of the year in 1984.
Just two years later his father arranged a trip to Jan Churchill's Welsh Forest Rally School near Newtown where Richard drove a Ford Escort for the day, from that moment on Richard knew what he wanted to do.
Richard badgered his father into letting him join the Craven Motor Club in his home town Reading where his talent was spotted by rally raconteur and enthusiast David Williams and where he rallied the stages of Panaround, Bagshot, Mid-Wales, Millbrook, Severn Valley, Kayel Graphics and Cambrian Rally
In 1990 he joined the Peugeot Challenge after David Williams bought Richard a Peugeot 205GTI and where he got his first taste of a World Rally Championship event in Great Britain, he later won the series.
In 1993 he joined the Subaru Rally Team for the British Championship alongside Alistair McRae where he won 4 Rallies on the Vauxhall Sport, Pirelli, Scottish, and Manx International stages, Richard became the youngest British Champion that year.
In 1998 he won his first ever World Rally Championship event on the treacherous stages of the Safari Rally when he drove his Mitsubishi Carisma GT to 1st place.
On Sunday November 25 2001 Richard Burns became the first Englishman to win the World Rally Championship. Richard drove his Subaru Impreza to 3rd place in the Rally Of Great Britain. When Richard passed the finishing line at the final stage of the final rally in 2001 the famous words popped out of Richard's mouth "We're the best in the world".