Which is exactly how it's shaping up.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in the red corner to my right - Reigning champion of the world, Sebastien Loeb accompanied by Daniel Elena!
<raptuous applause>
And in the blue corner to my left - Former champion of the World, Marcus Gronholm accompanied by Timo Rautienutien!
<raptuous applause>
And now, the first of 3 rounds - it's a mud slinging gravel based battle royale in Japan! Gronholm leads the fight by 4 points, and is one of the sports undisputed masters of this surface - but that's never stopped Loeb before. The championship can not be won or lost here, but it will be an interesting challenge none the less.
Hey, who's thrown this blue and yellow hat into the ring? It's Petter Solberg! He wants a Subaru podium at the least, lets see if the car lasts or if Mikko Hirvonen or Dani Sordo can spoil his plans. Certainly not if Chris Atkinson or Xevi Pons has anything to do with it.
So there we have it - The championship can go either way from here and with a gravel surface favoring Gronholm (and there's 2 of those left) and a sealed surface favoring loeb (one of those left) it is going to be a really close and interesting way to see out 2007's motorsport season.
I'm going to try and attend at least one stage of the WRC Ireland and I can't wait! It's a new experience for all the drivers and I feel that Loeb will take the win.
As for the title, I can't see Marcus Gronholm taking the title. I feel Loeb will take the championship again he seems to be a more complete driver than Gronholm, despite Marcus' great skill on gravel
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/63413Gronholm thinks it'll be settled in Wales...
Yay!
I think Gronholm will just pip Loeb - But Ireland could well be a bit surprising.
Time to kick the tyres and start the fires for the Shakedown - Place your bets for the king of Japan here.
I think it's Gronholm, first followed by Loeb.
I agree with you on that Stig. Marcus could be too strong for Loeb But I feel that Loeb can make up the 6-point gap when the championship finishes in the British Isles
Well now - round one to Finland, but the Wrong Finn! So we're now down to a 2 round showdown with Loeb needing 4 or more points over Gronhom to seal the title.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...lly/7066018.stm