2007 WRC Preview: Chasing Sebastien

Less than two months have passed since the 2006 World Rally Championship finished, but the teams and drivers are already back in the service park ready to do it all over again.

There is no denying that the WRC was struggling last year. Not only was the field lacking entries at most events, the fact that two men shared 15 victories out of 16 events shows that it wasn't a competitive year for the championship at the sharp end.

But things are looking up for 2007. There will be more teams and drivers, and it is unlikely that Sebastien Loeb is going to get it all his own way as he gets to grips with the brand new Citroen C4.

Behind the championship contenders there should be plenty of competitive privateers ready to pounce on any mistakes from the front-runners, while some new additions to the calendar mean that the WRC is already looking rejuvenated before the first competitive stage mile has been completed.

The Big Three

It's fair to say that 2006 only had a 'big two', and it applied to drivers rather than teams. But as the works Citroen team returns to battle Ford and Subaru aim to get back on the pace, don't expect a repeat of the Sebastien and Marcus show throughout this season.

While their battles for the lead were often close fought and exciting it was frustrating to see only two men in serious contention for victory - and because it was usually Loeb who came out on top, the championship fight fizzled out in the second half of the season.

But for those hoping to see Loeb's three-year streak of titles come to an end, there are reasons for optimism. The Frenchman has a brand new car to deal with, while Gronholm will be climbing back into the familiar surroundings of his Ford Focus and Petter Solberg will be fired up to put the "worst season" of his career behind him.

Another factor that could work against Loeb is his injury from last season. The Frenchman just got away with sitting out the final four rounds of the year after breaking his arm, but he claims that he is not yet back to full fitness.

Loeb has admitted that development of the new car had not progressed as much as he had hoped while he was out of action, so if he has to develop the car while trying to complete his recovery then Gronholm could be off in the distance in the championship race.

Sebastien Loeb driving the Citroen C4 WRC during the Race of Champions © XPB/LAT

The Ford Focus was a very strong package by the end of last year and essentially the M-Sport team are now one year ahead of their French rivals. As Malcolm Wilson has pointed out, Loeb was able to get away last year as Ford dealt with all of the teething problems on their car in the early part of the season, and they will be hoping that Citroen face similar difficulties this year.

Despite delaying their new car until the fourth round of the year in Mexico, Subaru should be able to propel Petter Solberg back into the fray from the off this year. The Norwegian looked more competitive in the final few rounds of 2006 and the team have to put the disastrous win-less 2006 behind them as quickly as possible.

Pirelli's withdrawal from the championship also means that Subaru are on a completely level playing field with their main rivals, and the team are optimistic that the switch to BFGoodrich can benefit them from the very first event of the year.

The Support Acts

Behind the three champions who should be at the head of the field, their respective team mates should also be in contention at the sharp end with their works machinery - and they will all want to shake off the 'support' tag.

Ford's Mikko Hirvonen was by far the strongest number two last year and it was fitting that he got his maiden WRC victory in Australia towards the end of the year. The Finn spent much of the season sitting in third place while Gronholm and Loeb went head-to-head, but this year he will want to do more than just play a backup role in Ford's bid for the manufacturers' title.

Hirvonen will be able to start the season brimming with confidence, and he knows that he will have a good car underneath him from the start of the season. Unfortunately, it is not entirely clear just how capable he is of taking the fight to his team mate.

Last season Hirvonen was only given the freedom to attack Gronholm for the final round of the season, but he retired from Rally GB on the first day of the event, which prevented him from proving what he was really capable of last year.

Dani Sordo made an impressive entry into the WRC last year and his performances were strong enough to convince Citroen to put him alongside Loeb on their return to the championship as a full works effort.

Dani Sordo and Marc Marti (Citroen), Wales Rally GB © LAT

Towards the end of last year the Spaniard was trusted with the development of the new car in Loeb's absence and there will be plenty more responsibility resting on the young man's shoulders during the first season of the new car.

Sordo replaced Xevi Pons as the second driver at Kronos during the middle of last season, but his countryman shone when he returned to one of the points-scoring Xsaras at the end of the season. The former JWRC champion needs to start his second WRC campaign by regaining the momentum he took into 2006 - and if the C4 is not on song from this weekend he could be faced with an uphill struggle throughout the season.

Chris Atkinson's second season at Subaru was blighted by the problematic 2006 car, making it difficult to tell if the Aussie is truly deserving of a works drive in the WRC. It is unfair to make any judgements based on last year, but this season there should be no excuses.

Atkinson is familiar with the team, he has plenty of experience in the championship and he should have a good car underneath him. If Solberg can make the Impreza win again this year, then Atkinson will have to show he can really perform.

The Poor Relations

Behind the big-money manufacturer teams are the privateers who are doing their all, simply to score some world championship points. That wasn't much of a challenge last year, but with more competitive cars this year the battle behind the works cars should be intense.

There is little doubt that the strongest privateer team should be Kronos Racing. The Belgian outfit took Sebastien Loeb to the title last year in the absence of a full-works Citroen team, and they should be well-supported by the manufacturer again this year.

Manfred Stohl proved last year that he was very capable behind the wheel of a Peugeot 307 and once he gets reacquainted to the impressive Citroen Xsara he last drove in 2005 he should be in prime position to pick up the pieces dropped by the manufacturers.

Matthew Wilson and Michael Orr (Ford), Rally Japan © LAT

Leading the privateer fleet of Ford cars will be the Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally team. With three drivers at their disposal, the secondary Ford outfit should be a force to be reckoned with.

Jari-Matti Latvala proved in a handful of appearances last year that he was deserving of a full-time WRC drive, while Henning Solberg will be looking to add to the maiden podium finish that he scored last year.

The third car will be driven by Matthew Wilson, who will be allowed to push much harder this season after a cautious debut in 2006. The young British driver won't be eligible to score points for the manufacturers' championship, which relieves him of some pressure as he takes on the events for the second time.

Another man who was impressive when he had the chance last year is Luis Perez-Companc, and the Argentine driver will also get a full-time drive in a Focus for this season.

Throughout the year the number of cars will be boosted by several drivers that are not doing a full season, and some of these cameo appearances will be names that are not to be scoffed at.

The likes of Francois Duval, Daniel Carlsson, and Gigi Galli are all proven forces in the WRC and they will all add their fair share to the drama of 2007 whenever they can.

Expect the privateers to really shine when the playing field is levelled out by new events - and three of the 'candidate events' that drew such excitement last year have made their way onto the calendar for 2007.

The first new event will be on Petter Solberg's home turf - or snow - as Rally Norway forms part of a Scandinavian double with Rally Sweden. Unfortunately for Solberg, he won't have his hands on the new Subaru in time for the event.

Rally Portugal returns to the championship for the first time since 2001, while Rally Ireland will form part of a season-closing double header with Wales Rally GB at the end of the year.

With a refreshed calendar and entry list, the WRC has the ingredients to prove that 2006 was a one-off. The recipe is in place for a tight season, so don't expect a clear run to a fourth consecutive world title for Sebastien Loeb.