Rally of Great Britain review

But if you’re going to lose to anyone on the last day on the last rally of the year, it would have to be to this guy. Like the man who was busy wrapping his own championship on the weekend, former Rally of Great Britain entrant Valentino Rossi, the Frenchman can now surely be crowned the GOAT – the greatest of all time.

The frustrating thing for Hirvonen though was just how close he came to upsetting the onion cart. Both he and Loeb have notched up one previous victory each on the slimy gravel stages of south Wales, but this battle was something else.

From day one in the rain-soaked moorland above Aberystwyth (a good two and half hours from the service park in Cardiff Bay), the rally was all about these two. Third and fourth placed Citroen drivers Dani Sordo and Petter Solberg had their own battle, but it was a long way back.

Loeb wrapped up the first three stages, then Hirvonen drove like a demon to win the repeat runs in the afternoon to finish just five seconds behind on day one. The Finn’s crash at Sweet Lamb last year was obviously well buried in his subconscious.

Day two and the forest stages near Brecon didn’t suit Hirvonen so much - a win for Loeb looked pretty much inevitable. A five-second gap is closable, but start the final day 30 seconds behind and you’re wishing car trouble on your rival.

Amazingly, Hirvonen got his wish. After sweating his way through the first Sunday stage to claw back just a second on Loeb, the next stage he chopped a massive 10 seconds off Loeb’s lead to peg it at 18 seconds. The Frenchman’s Citroen was suffering turbo problems and the GOAT was losing time.

At this rate, Hirvonen could overtake his rival on the last two stages with just hundredths to spare. Exciting wasn’t the word.
That’s when his world when black. A jump had broken a pin attaching the bonnet and it was flapping to the point he just couldn’t see. He had to stop and rip it off, costing him a minute and 25 seconds. One small failure and it was all over for Britain’s homegrown Ford team. Loeb relaxed, lost 19 seconds to Hirvonen in the final stage and still won comfortably.

So the GOAT once again tramples all over Ford’s carefully cultivated cabbage patch of hope, munching through its tender dreams for another year. But both teams and both drivers are back next year, and Hirvonen promise he’ll once again be gunning for the Frenchman: “My challenge is to beat Loeb before he retires.”