A messy legal battle ensued for the Englishman's services for 2002, from which fresh suitors, 2000 and 2001 Manufacturers' Champions Peugeot emerged victorious. The existing tally of ten WRC triumphs, however, was not to be added to, with the quest for a second world title equally fruitless for Burns. In November 2003, however, with the Englishman heading to the season-ending Wales Rally GB still in the frame to duke it out for that title, Burns suffered a blackout while driving to the rally. He was withdrawn from the event, and thus the title fight, and duly diagnosed with an astrocytoma, a type of brain tumour. He did have a brief stint out of hospital in summer of 2004, only to be made to return, undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as surgery in April 2005 that was described as "very successful".Late on Friday, November 25, 2005, four years to the day after winning the World Rally Championship, Burns died at the age of 34, after having been in a coma for some days as a result of a brain tumour.