The 2006 WRC Season Review

The record books won't tell the true story of the 2006 World Rally Championship. When skimming through the championship standings in years to come, a difference of just one point between the top two drivers will make the season look like a closely fought battle, but that isn't very fair on Sebastien Loeb.

Loeb sealed the title with two rounds still to go, and it could have been earlier. The fact that he missed the last four events of the year and still wrapped up the crown shows that the Frenchman and his Citroen Xsara were a dominant force, and in reality he only had one opponent all year.

It became apparent early on in the year that before each rally there were only ever two men likely of taking the spoils. Loeb and Marcus Gronholm were the only drivers with the experience and the car to challenge for victories, and they made the championship their own, winning between them 15 of the 16 events.

Gronholm started the season in the best possible way with two victories, but Loeb was hot on his heels with a pair of second place finishes. One of those was somewhat fortunate, though, and it was a clear demonstration of what to expect from the season.

Loeb failed to complete the final stage of day one in Monte Carlo, but he was able to rejoin the event on the Saturday under the controversial SupeRally rule. The Frenchman only picked up a five-minute penalty for missing one stage, and hauled his way back up the weak field to second place during the rest of the weekend.

Sebastien Loeb crashes his Citroen during Rally Monte Carlo © Gauloises

It meant that Gronholm was unable to reap any big rewards from Loeb's error, whereas not too long ago the world champion would have been 10 points behind the Finn after just one event.

The start to the season was better than Gronholm could have expected after joining Ford for 2006. With a new team and a brand new car, Ford had been modest in their predictions for the season, but suddenly they were in the thick of a scrap with Loeb, although the consistency of the Frenchman would eventually lead to him streaking away in the title race.

Loeb's record in his 12 rallies this year was remarkable, as he finished in the top two every time. Unsurprisingly, Gronholm couldn't match that consistency with a brand new car that was expected to have teething problems. After those two victories for the Ford man, Loeb won the next five events, while in that time Gronholm only scored 15 points.

While the pair traded victories as the reliability of the Focus improved, Gronholm was too far behind until he was handed a lifeline at the end of September.

Loeb broke his arm in a mountain bike accident, and he was sidelined before he had been able to seal the title. Gronholm was given the challenge of making up the 35-point deficit in four rallies, and based on the lack of competition the top two had faced all year, the Finn was expected to take four victories with ease.

Gronholm got the win he needed in Turkey, but a crucial error in Australia left him out of contention for any serious points. He was fortunate that the entry featured only 10 WRC cars, many of which dropped out due to problems, but it would turn out that his roll on the Friday in Australia would cost him the title by a point.

But while Gronholm can of course be disappointed, he has to be realistic. He not only realised that he wasn't in with much of a chance of the title before Loeb's injury, but it is also likely that the Frenchman would have returned at some point this season if he just needed to score a handful of points.

Gronholm after rolling his car during Rally Australia © Reuters

Loeb wouldn't have been at 100 per cent if he had returned, but he wouldn't have needed to be to pick up points at most events. The WRC field suffered from a serious lack of depth in 2006, and Australia was the low point with just 10 cars at the top of the entry list.

The other problem was that few of these cars ever looked likely of taking the fight to the leaders. Mikko Hirvonen was solid in the second Ford, and the Finn kept his head when Loeb and Gronholm were out of contention in Australia to become the only other driver to win a rally all year.

Hirvonen's contribution was vital for Ford, though, as they battled for their first manufacturers' crown in 27 years. Loeb was offering the majority of the resistance from Citroen, although the French manufacturer wasn't a full-on works attack this year.

Belgian outfit Kronos Racing were running the team with assistance from Citroen, and the team were taking both championships seriously, as a mid-season driver swap showed.

Spaniard Xevi Pons started the year in the number two Citroen alongside Loeb, but in the middle of the season he was bumped down to a third car, which wasn't eligible for manufacturers' points, as 2005 Junior WRC champion Dani Sordo earned a promotion with some impressive performances in his rookie year.

Pons made it back into one of the cars later in the year after Colin McRae struggled as Loeb's replacement in Turkey. He generally outperformed Sordo in the final events of the year, but the Spanish duo were no match for Ford, and Kronos missed out on the double title.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of 2006 was the fact that Subaru didn't win a rally, and for most of the year, they didn't even come close. The team admitted that there was no mystery to their lack of performance, they just didn't have a quick car.

Petter Solberg did his best to remain upbeat as much as possible, and as the results improved towards the end of the season, the 2003 champion regained his edge. However, his optimism was given a serious knock when he discovered that the team is unlikely to take the new car to Monte Carlo for the start of the new season.

Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen © Ford

Subaru's lack of performance, plus no other works outfits, allowed privateers to enjoy the limelight in 2006. The most impressive performances came from Manfred Stohl, as the Austrian took his Peugeot 307 to fourth in the championship.

The battles at the front of the field between Loeb and Gronholm were often spectacular enough to detract from the lack of opposition behind them, but the WRC can't afford a repeat in 2007.

The championship will be boosted by the return of Citroen as a full works outfit, and the new C4 car could make the title battle more open if it suffers the teething problems that Ford have dealt with throughout this year. If not, then Sebastien Loeb will be on for a fourth consecutive title.