Former World Rally Championship title winner Richard Burns died today at the young age of 34 after a long battle with brain cancer. Coincidentally, Burns lost his long battle on the fourth anniversary of his first and only WRC title win in 2001.

This is terrible, if not unexpected, news. I always loved Burns on the track yet always felt a bit irked by his smugness off... until I realized that it was precisely that smugness that helped him do such amazing things on the track. The guy wasn't really a jerk, he was just supremely self-confident, and his 2001 WRC championship will be a lasting legacy of proof.

I really got into rallying about 1998, right smack dab in the middle of Tommi Makinen's impressive run of title wins. As dominant as Tommi was back then, it was hard not to notice Burns' ability behind the wheel. For many, Colin McRae is the premiere Subaru driver, thanks to his 1995 championship win. For me, and no offense to Petter Solberg's amazing accomplishments, whenever I think of Subaru, I'll always think of Burnsie.