World Rally Championship 2007

Drivers' Championship Standings
(after 11 rounds):

Manufacturers' WRC Standings
(after 11 rounds):

New Zealand - 31st August - 2nd September 2007

Marcus Gronholm wrestled the tightest of wins away from Sebastian Loeb when the Finn finished the Rally New Zealand in just 0.3 seconds quicker than the Frenchman.

The pair where never more than 15 seconds apart for the entire rally, the choice of tyres throughout the weekend seeming to be quite a deciding factor, first one going quicker, then the other.

"It was an incredible fight all weekend and this win is fantastic for my championship hopes," said Grönholm. "It's the closest and best battle in my career and I'm delighted to have won it. There wasn't room for a single missed gearchange. I'm really happy for the team, more so because everyone was able to stand outside and watch the final stage near the service park and share in our excitement when we knew we had done it.

"I stayed calm in the rally car and that's something I've learned from many years' practice of attacking. The only big stress came with choosing tyres because the conditions were inconsistent and when it's as close as it has been here, then one wrong tyre choice would have ruined everything. It's good to extend my championship lead and I think it's going to be a great end to the season," he added.

Of his weekend, Loeb said, "We managed to stay level with Marcus in many places, but we dropped time on each test. On top of that, rain started to fall just as we were about to start two of the stages. That's rallying. I pushed as hard as I could but it was always at the back of my mind that eight points for finishing second would be better than a blank scorecard in terms of the fight for the Drivers' title."

• Monte Carlo Rally
• Sweden
• Norway

2007 Calendar