So, after a four month break the 2010 World Rally Championship is finally up and running, and as the snow dust settles after a sensational Rally Sweden, it looks like the year ahead will be cracker.
Of course it's not easy to draw too many long-term conclusions after a rally as specialised as Sweden, but the performances of the top drivers on ice have given us some useful indications about how the season might pan out.
To help interpret the results here at wrc.com, we can call upon the expertise of WRC TV's stage end reporter Julian Porter - a man who spends more time talking to the drivers on the stages than just about anybody.
This unique level of rally insight, combined with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport, is why Julian is more commonly known as 'The Guru'.
So what did we learn from Rally Sweden? Here are the Guru's top five suggestions:
1: Raikkonen has passed his first WRC driving lesson
"Before any WRC season there's always a lot of hype about what's going to happen, and who's going to do what. This year was no different, except that we had another factor to consider: just how was former F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen going to get on? Pushed out of his Ferrari F1 drive, Raikkonen decided the challenge of rallying was just what he wanted and I for one am delighted he's come to the WRC.
"Even after his Arctic rally warm-up, however, Sweden was always going to be a tough start for him, and anybody who thought he was going to set the world alight straight away obviously didn't understand the sport.
"Probably the best thing that happened to Kimi was getting stuck behind Khalid Al Qassimi on the first proper stage. This immediately took away a lot of the pressure to succeed. Over the three days Kimi got very well acquainted the snow shovel carried in his Citroen but remained in good humour as he learned. The experience gained in Sweden will be invaluable for future events. Well done Kimi. Welcome to the WRC and thank you, Ferrari."
2: It's advantage Mikko in the title race
"Mikko Hirvonen says losing the 2009 championship by one point made him stronger and he's prepared to be more aggressive in his approach this year. Well, if Sweden is anything to go by he's certainly following his own advice. Mikko was brilliant in all areas in Sweden and on Saturday showed Sebastien how to use the tyres to their best.
It's also worth pointing out that Mikko didn't back off on Friday night - when he had the chance - to run behind Seb in Saturday's running order. In fact, Saturday was probably the best day of Mikko's WRC career to date. What he'll manage to do in Mexico nobody knows, but with Mikko having the advantage from round one he could have set up the biggest championship fight we've had in many years. I like the look of the new more aggressive Mikko Hirvonen."
3: Sebastien Loeb has a fight on his hands for title number seven
"On the other side of the battle for the lead was Sebastien Loeb, the six time world rally champion. Seb has won on every surface in the WRC and for that reason is favourite to win every rally he enters. But he must have left Sweden thinking this year is going to be tough.
"Sweden showed us that if he wants to take a seventh title then he will have to dig extra deep. Seb made a wrong decision on when to change tyres on Saturday and nearly threw everything away with a big scare on Sunday morning. At that point he decided second on round one wasn't such a bad result and backed off. I can't remember the last time Seb has openly given up on the lead fight like that, but it just goes to show how strong an opponent Mikko was."
4: Dani Sordo is under pressure
"Dani ended the 2009 season strongly, and driving for the top team and in the best car in many ways seems to be living the WRC dream. But in Sweden we saw some of the extreme pressure that Sordo is under. Having Sebastien Loeb, one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, as your team-mate has never been easy, but now his Junior team colleague Sebastien Ogier looks to be stalking him.
"Dani needs to win a rally very soon to prove his worth. In Sweden he was good on Friday but lacked speed on Saturday morning, before that lucky escape from a massive sixth-gear spin. Things got worse in the afternoon when the radiator covers were left on and he lost his third stopping to remove them. If that wasn't bad enough, team boss Olivier Quesnel showed little sympathy, blaming Sordo for the 'stupid' mistake. Dani responding by saying it was his co-driver's job to remove the covers. Whoever was to blame, Dani must be feeling the pressure from a Sebastien up ahead and another one coming up from behind."
5: Sometimes in the WRC things just don't go to plan
"The Rally Sweden entry list was dripping with quality names in quality cars - including four former world champions; Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm, Petter Solberg and Kimi Raikkonen. Much had been made of Petter's title-winning potential this year, but it's not easy to do everything yourself and on Thursday night the pressure showed. Unfortunately for him, the mistakes on the Super Special set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Despite having the same basic machinery as Sebastien Loeb, nothing seemed to go right for Solberg in Sweden. Now he's hoping for a fresh start in Mexico. Let's hope Sweden was just an isolated 'blip' for Petter.
"Marcus Gronholm was still as popular and funny as ever, but he too wished things had gone differently. He spent Friday morning getting up to speed only to have the Focus stop on him in the afternoon. Later on he was unlucky enough to get a puncture and go off the road on Saturday. He will take some good memories though. When he announced he was coming out of retirement he said he wanted to go fastest on his favourite stage of the WRC, Sagen. In the morning on Saturday he came off second best to Loeb, but in the afternoon he was fastest. Job done. Marcus, it was great having you back."
Source: WRC
