Motor Sport: Former world rally champion Richard Burns has been forced to pull out of next year's championship after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, writes Justin Hynes.
The English driver was forced to withdraw from the season- ending Wales Rally GB a fortnight ago after he passed out while driving to Cardiff to begin preparations for the event with his Peugeot team. It was a bitter blow to the 2001 champion, who lay just five points behind then leaders Sebastian Loeb and Carlos Sainz.
But the news is even more painful after tests undertaken in the aftermath of Burns' collapse have revealed that the 32-year-old is suffering from astrocytoma, a brain tumour which normally affects middle aged people.
Burns, who recently ended his association with Peugeot and re-signed for Subaru, the team with which he won his 2001 title, will begin a course of radiotherapy soon.
"The doctors have advised that I am unable to get back in a rally car for the 2004 FIA WRC Championship and I have to accept that," he said yesterday.
Meanwhile, in Formula One, McLaren have confirmed rumours that first began circulating in July with the announcement that Juan Pablo Montoya will drive for the Mercedes-powered team in 2005.
Speculation about this season's third-placed finisher in the drivers' championship began to mount at the German Grand Prix, where it was suggested McLaren had moved to obtain the Colombian's signature after his current team, Williams, had refused to significantly increase his salary.
It is believed Montoya receives slightly less than $2 million per season from Williams, compared with a rumoured $10 million for team-mate Ralf Schumacher, who is also in contract negotiations with BMW-powered Williams. McLaren are believed to have offered Montoya in the region of $8 million per year.
The signing will spell the end of David Coulthard's involvement with McLaren, which by the end of next season will total nine years. The Scotsman, who has won 13 grands prix in a career stretching back to 1994, has been eclipsed by team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who finished the 2003 season as runner-up to six-time champion Michael Schumacher.
Cycling: Tarja Owens and Jenny McCauley achieved their important goal of a high finish in the concluding event of the 2003 mountainbike season at the weekend, placing third and fourth respectively in the world-ranked E1 race at Mount Sdom, Israel, and thus making it likely that an Olympic place will pass to Ireland next season.
Owens finished one minute and 59 seconds behind the German winner, Ivonne Kraft, with McCauley 4.54 further back.
This should ensure that Ireland is 16th in the nations list when the world rankings are updated this week. The first 14 countries automatically qualify, but team manager Geoff Seymour is confident that there will not be a full uptake of places, thus opening a slot for an Irishwoman next summer.
Robin Seymour has already done enough to ensure qualification and posted another fine result when he placed third in the men's event, wheeling to a halt 4 minutes and 57 seconds after the Swedish winner, Philip Tavell, at the end of the 43-kilometre desert race.
Seymour is comfortably inside the world's top 50 after a fine season and is the most likely Irish candidate for Athens 2004.
