The 2007 WRC Season Review

The climax to this year's World Rally Championship didn't do justice to the 2007 season. After a tense, year-long battle between two of the sport's greats, Wales Rally GB was a rather flat affair, but the campaign should not be judged on the final event of the season.

Sebastien Loeb felt that his fourth consecutive title was the hardest one yet, and to put it simply, that is entirely down to the efforts of Marcus Gronholm and Ford, who were able to offer him a challenge worthy of his ability.

In truth, Loeb wasn't in the driving seat in the title race this year, but he was handed a lifeline by Gronholm not once, but twice, in the final three rallies of the year.

While he failed to take it the first time when he joined the Finn on the retirements list in Japan, there was no such error in Ireland, the event which effectively sealed the title.

Clash of the Titans

This year's title battle was only ever going to be about two men - Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Gronholm.

For once, the odds were not stacked heavily in Loeb's favour. The dominant Xsara WRC machine that had taken him to three titles was no longer his weapon, as he would be attacking events for the first time with the new Citroen C4.

While that alone wouldn't be a huge disadvantage, it was certainly a concern for the French squad, who were aware that after a year of settling in during 2006, the Ford/Gronholm package was going to be fiercely competitive.

Any concerns about the new Citroen were laid to rest first time out in Monte Carlo, where the C4 took a 1-2 finish, as Dani Sordo beat Gronholm to second spot behind Loeb.

Daniel Elena, Sebastien Loeb, Timo Rautiainen, Marcus Gronholm © LAT

But the season would not prove to be as straightforward from then on. Ford bounced back by winning the next two rallies, although victory in Norway went to the ever-improving Mikko Hirvonen, and it was in this event that there was a glimpse of just how hard Loeb would be pushing during the season.

The Frenchman lost any chance of scoring points when he crashed, and it would not be the only time that the usually cool world champion would crack during 2007.

While the C4 proved to be a force on gravel during the following months, it was taking a long time for Loeb to make up for his Norway error. But help came when all of the Ford drivers were penalised for running the wrong rear side windows in Portugal.

The season seemed to be taking a familiar shape halfway through Rally Italy though, where Loeb was heading for a comfortable fourth consecutive victory, and he threw the win away with a lapse in concentration.

It was a bad time to slip up, as Gronholm backed up his fortunate victory with two more in Greece and Finland. While Loeb responded on the asphalt in Germany, this was all a prelude to the pair's greatest battle.

The majority of the events in 2007 would follow a similar theme for Loeb. Regardless of Gronholm's pace, the Citroen driver would usually spend the first day of a rally getting the new C4 up to speed, before upping his pace on day two.

It meant that Gronholm had to start a rally well if he wanted to be in with a chance for the rest of the weekend. If the Finn ever had a troublesome first day, his chances of victory were shot.

Gronholm had started well in New Zealand, but Loeb had reeled him in and snatched the lead at the start of the final day. The leaders then swapped positions several times on the Sunday, and eventually Gronholm took victory by just 0.3s.

It was a turning point for the former world champion. Not only had he scored a psychological blow by winning their greatest-ever duel, but he had proved to himself that he could respond when Loeb found his feet with the new car.

It left him with a 10 point lead with just five rallies remaining - three on Tarmac (Loeb territory), and two on gravel.

The wrecked Ford Focus of Marcus Gronholm in Rally Japan © LAT

The Showdown

Everything that had happened prior to New Zealand was now irrelevant. Loeb was facing his toughest challenge yet, as he had to make up that 10-point deficit in five events. If he won all five then his mission would be accomplished, but with Gronholm flying high with self-belief after New Zealand, it was unlikely.

Loeb did his bit by duly winning the Tarmac rallies in Spain and France, and in the first of those two Dani Sordo delivered for Citroen by snatching second place from Gronholm's reach.

Citroen had even drafted asphalt specialist Francois Duval into the Kronos Racing line-up, as they hoped that the Belgian would be able to force Gronholm into an error as he had in Germany.

But Duval was of little use, as he felt that the developments on the factory cars had left his ageing Xsara unable to compete. When even Sordo was unable to beat Gronholm in Corsica, the Finn was upbeat. His lead had reduced to four points, but only one of the three events remaining was on Loeb's preferred surface.

The pressure was on heading into Japan though, and the tension led to both of the title contenders throwing their cars off the road. Gronholm was the first to crash (on Friday morning), and the Finn made it clear that he thought his title chances were effectively over as the weekend progressed - but he was let off the hook when Loeb also crashed out.

Looking back on the season though, Gronholm admitted that it was decided at the following event. He lasted just four stages of the first Rally Ireland, where he had been running third behind the two Citroens during the Friday morning.

It left Loeb to cruise to a victory and a six-point lead with just one rally remaining. If Gronholm had settled for third, the Citroen driver would have been just two points ahead before Rally GB, setting up a thrilling finale.

In the end, the finale was a disappointment. Loeb only needed to finish fifth to seal the title, and his only concern was that he would struggle to resist the urge to fight for a rally victory.

While Loeb was cruising to the title, Gronholm also took it easy. The Finn didn't want to crash out of a third consecutive rally, for if he did so and Loeb then did the same, he would have wasted the chance to seal the title in his final rally before retirement.

But it didn't happen. Loeb took a fourth world title in understated circumstances, while Gronholm cruised around ahead of him to take second. But with the 'big two' backing off in Wales, the door was left open for some of the WRC's future stars to shine.

Jari-Matti Latvala © LAT

The Best of the Rest

Of course, there were more than two men in this year's World Rally Championship, although from watching the cars at the side of a stage, it was clear that the rallying is suffering from a lack of depth.

Loeb and Gronholm weren't pushing on the Friday morning in Wales, but they were still spectacular. After they had come through, only a couple of those that followed looked anywhere near the limit.

With Gronholm gone for 2008, it's difficult to expect anything other than a dominant title number five for Loeb. But the world champion is not expecting a cruise to the crown next year.

Loeb highlighted three young guns that he is preparing to do battle with in the future, and two of them shone in 2007's finale.

Ford's Mikko Hirvonen took a relatively easy third win of the year in Rally GB, and it is worth noting that the young Finn finished the year just 17 points adrift of Loeb, and on occasion he was able to beat the title contenders in a straight fight.

Hirvonen will have to step up to the role of team leader at Ford next year, but it is a role he appears to be relishing, and he will probably be Loeb's fiercest competitor next year if he continues to progress as he has alongside Gronholm for the past two years.

Another Ford driver that Loeb is wary of is a second young Finn, Jari-Matti Latvala. While the Stobart Ford driver only scored his first WRC podium in the penultimate rally of the year, he showed flashes of blistering speed during the year.

As the season wore on, Latvala appeared to be honing his skills, and in Wales, he dominated the final two days of the season. Unfortunately, he was out of contention after a disaster on Friday evening, and it has to be remembered that he was winning stage after stage while very few others were pushing.

Unsurprisingly, Loeb is also looking close to home for a future challenger in the form of Dani Sordo. By the end of the year, the Spaniard looked as if he would have been able to offer Loeb a genuine threat on asphalt, but he is probably a little too far away from the pace on loose surfaces yet to be a championship contender.

One name yet to crop up is Petter Solberg. As Subaru have lost their way in recent years, it is easy to forget that the Norwegian was the last man to beat Loeb to the title when he took the 2003 crown.

Subaru were unable to find their way again in 2007, which left Solberg and Chris Atkinson often frustrated. That frustration led to errors, as both drivers tried to get more out of the struggling Impreza than it was capable of.

The pair could have picked up solid points behind the leaders all year, but it was a mentality that was difficult to sustain. While the majority of those that were disappointing to watch after Loeb and Gronholm in Wales had little excuse, it was clear that the Subaru pair were being held back by machinery rather than ability.

With the likes of David Richards and David Lapworth returning to the fold in the team at the end of this season, there is likely to be a big shake-up in a bid to return Subaru to the force that they once were.

For the sake of the WRC, it needs to happen. In 2008 Loeb is going to need all the challengers he can get if the championship is to survive Gronholm's departure, but at least the two of them served up an epic title fight in their final year as rivals.