WorldRallyChampionship: Build-up to Irish dateIn his second article on the WRC, Bob Montgomerylooks at the front runners - and the local drivers
Just as the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship moves towards a thrilling climax, so too does the FIA World Rally Championship, as rivals Sebastian Loeb and Marcus Grönholm continue to battle for the title. All of which is really good news for Rally Ireland, which looks destined to play a key role in the championship struggle in only its first year as a WRC round.
After a succession of titles going to Citroën and its star driver, Loeb, the Ford team and Grönholm are hungry for success this year, especially as rally legend Grönholm has announced he intends to retire at the end of this season.
The Finn and his co-driver, Timo Rautiainen, who will retire at the same time, are one of the most successful pairings ever and stand second in the list of all-time rally wins with 30, having twice won the driver's world title.
Clearly, Sebastian Loeb and the Citroën team recognise the pivotal part Rally Ireland is likely to play in deciding the outcome of this year's championship, and have taken the almost unprecedented step of taking part in two Irish events, the Donegal International Rally in June, and the recent Cork 20 Rally, as part of their preparation for Rally Ireland.
Loeb won both events, but clearly found the Donegal race different to anything he had experienced and needed a second look - hence the decision to come to the Cork 20 Rally. Loeb was quoted as saying after the Cork 20: "After Donegal, I had an idea of what to expect here but once again, I was surprised by how difficult the stages were."
Ford and Grönholm have also come to Ireland to get a better idea of what they will face in Rally Ireland in November, and participated in the Galway International Rally earlier this year.
The nature of the terrain and the speed of the local Irish drivers, it's generally agreed, acted as something in the nature of a "wake-up call", and it was evident that it took most of the rally before Grönholm got on top of the event, and went on to win by a relatively slim margin.
Loeb has closed to within four points of Grönholm and may go even further before Rally Ireland as there is another event before then - Rally Japan, which is an all-gravel event based in Hokkaido, the remote and northernmost island of Japan. However, given the very tight nature of this year's contest between Loeb and Grönholm it is almost certain that when both front-running teams come to Ireland in November there will be little or nothing between them in the points standings.
There is another factor which is unique to Rally Ireland, and that is the perceived strength of the local challenge from Irish drivers. Rallying is a hugely popular sport here, as testified by the presence in Ireland of no fewer than 83 WRC cars - a figure unmatched in any other country in the world.
Allied to this is the intensely competitive nature of Irish rallying which, week in, week out, sees very close battles in the various Irish Rally Championships.
The question is, how does all this compare to the standards set by the top professional drivers in the World Rally Championship?
Perhaps some indication can be gained from the achievement of Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award winner Shaun Gallagher's success this season in winning the 2007 WRC Rookie Championship, a win tied up in fine style at the Rally Catalunya in Spain.
Competing as World Rally Team Ireland, they will arrive at the start of Rally Ireland as the first WRC Champions to win their category this year, as well as the first Irish crew to win a WRC title - a superb achievement and one for which they deserve the sort of acclaim we normally reserve for our Olympic gold medal winners.
Meanwhile, as the build-up to the event continues, RTÉ has announced its plans to broadcast live programmes and highlights each day of the event from Thursday, November 15th to Sunday, November 18th, on television, radio and online.
As well as RTÉ television, RTÉ Radio sports programmes will play an important role, featuring reports and interviews, as well as all of the day's results and news.
In the final part of this three-part preview of Rally Ireland, on October 31st, we'll focus on the route and the challenge that will face the competing drivers, as well as giving you information on where and how to spectate.
Tickets for the "Live at Stormont WRC Super Special Stage", as well as tickets for entry into the WRC Service Park at Sligo Institute of Technology are now available through www.ticketmaster.ie and www.rallyireland.org
These are the only places tickets are required.
The Stormont WRC Super Special Stage is a spectator-friendly stage in the grounds of Stormont, with a flying finish over the specially designed Creagh Bridge.
To find out more about Rally Ireland log on to: www.rallyireland.org For the latest news of the World Rally Championship go to: www.wrc.com