Marcus Gronholm and Sebastien Loeb are neck-in-neck going into the penultimate stage of the World Rally Championships (WRC) which begin at Stormont in Belfast today.
Gronholm, from Finland, is just 4 points ahead of Frenchman Loeb, the reigning world champion, before the start of the three-day Rally Ireland.
With just one further stage to go in the UK in December, Joanie Quinn of Rally Ireland was in neutral gear when it came to predicting who she thinks will finish on top of the podium.
She said: “It is too close to call between Gronholm and Loeb at the moment. But I will predict that motor rally fans will be guaranteed three days of world class rally driving in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
“Gronholm has announced his retirement this year and he will obviously be looking to go out on top, but Loeb is a just few points behind him and this looks like it could go right down to the final stage in December.
“Some of the world’s top rally drivers will be competing at this event and we have a very strong Irish entry also. Already there is a tremendous amount of excitement building up ahead of the championships.”
Rally Ireland is expecting over 150,000 spectators at the race, which will be televised in 200 countries. Of the 14 stage locations, six are in Northern Ireland and eight are in the Republic.
Gronholm, who has Timo Rautiainen as his co-driver, will be looking to steer his Ford Focus to glory this week, while Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena will be behind the controls of a Citroen.
Amazingly, both drivers failed to secure any points at the recent 14th stage in Japan, with Gronholm’s car going off the road in the first leg and suffering roll cage damage.
That mishap handed a clear advantage to Loeb, but a misread pace-note in the second leg led to the French team hitting a tree and sliding down a bank, unable to get their car on the stage and incurring time penalties.
Gronholm, 41, has won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002, as well as finishing first in the 2002 Race of Champions and taking home the Henri Toivonen Trophy. He will be hanging up his ignition keys after this year’s tournament.
Loeb, 33, won the world title in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2005 he claimed a record 10 stage rallies and has the most WRC wins at 34, making him one of the most successful rally drivers in history.
While all eyes will be on the race for the drivers’ championship between the Finnish and French arch rivals, there will also be a very strong international field in action on both sides of the Irish border.
Drivers from as far afield as Poland, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic, the USA, Australia, Qatar, Australia and Japan will be competing.
The main Irish hopes will be Tyrone’s Kris Meeke, Derry’s Eugene Donnelly and Dublin’s Gareth McHale.
The WRC Rally Ireland event begins with a Super Special Stage at Stormont in Belfast today, followed by three days of Special Stages on the roads of the north-western counties of Fermanagh, Tyrone, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Cavan and Donegal.
