Richard Burns has become the first Englishman to win the World Rally Championship, clinching the title by finishing third in the Network Q Rally of Great Britain, a race marred by a crash which injured 13 spectators. Subaru driver Burns needed to finish fourth or better in the race to be crowned champion after all his other world title contendors crashed out one-by-one. Finland's 2000 world champion Marcus Gronholm won the British rally for the first time in a Peugeot - Gronholm was two minutes and 27.1 seconds ahead of compatriot and team-mate Harri Rovanpera. There was also a joyous result for Wexford's Eamonn Boland - he finished 20th. Reading-born Burns officially became champion after making the 20-mile trip from the final stage at Margam to the formal finish in front of Cardiff's City Hall. Strangely, Burns' success comes after winning just one of the 14 rounds - in New Zealand. A consistent late-season run brought 29 points in the last six events to the man who has finished championship runner-up for the past two years. On Sunday, he safely negotiated the four remaining special stages, totalling 67 miles, in the muddy south Wales forests. The third-place finish gave Burns 44 points, two ahead of Colin McRae and three over Tommi Makinen. McRae, the 1995 champion, and four-time champion Makinen crashed out of the race on Friday, leaving Burns with a clear shot at the title. Final positions after Stage 17 - 1 M Gronholm Fin Peugeot 3:23:44.8 2 H Rovanpera Fin Peugeot + 2:27.1 3 R Burns Gbr Subaru + 3:27.0 4 A McRae Gbr Hyundai + 6:48.8 5 A Schwarz Ger Skoda + 7:31.3 6 K Eriksson Swe Hyundai + 8:11.0 7 D Auriol Fra Peugeot + 8:21.1 8 B Thiry Bel Skoda +10:55.6 9 G de Mevius Bel Peugeot +14:17.7 10 T Arai Jpn Subaru +15:06.4 20 E BOLAND IRL SUBARU +34:22.9