# 2007 Rally Ireland

The 2007 Rally Ireland, the first Rally Ireland and fifteenth round of the 2007 World Rally Championship, was a motor rally held from 15 to 18 November. It took place over eight counties on both sides of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The event started in Stormont, Belfast, and finished in Mullaghmore, County Sligo.

## Report

The rally began with the first special stage in front of Stormont Castle in Belfast, which Marcus Grönholm won Thursday evening. The next day, in the fourth special stage, Grönholm hit a wall hard, and he and co-driver Timo Rautiainen were taken to hospital as a precaution. Both remained unhurt but withdrew from the rally.
Citroën driver Sébastien Loeb took a step towards his fourth Drivers' World Championship title, retaking the lead in the drivers' standings. His advantage over his rival Grönholm, who retired on Friday after a serious accident, had been six points before the last round of the world championship. Mikko Hirvonen finished fourth, securing the second manufacturers' world championship title in a row for the Ford team.
Jari-Matti Latvala was third, taking his first WRC podium. On Friday, Latvala edged out Hirvonen for third place. He held this position to the finish despite briefly going off the road on Saturday, losing a little time.

## Results

| Pos. | Driver | Co-driver | Car | Time | Difference | Points |
| WRC |||||||
| 1. | Sébastien Loeb | Daniel Elena | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:01:39.2 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. | Dani Sordo | Marc Martí | Citroën C4 WRC | 3:02:32.6 | 53.4 | 8 |
| 3. | Jari-Matti Latvala | Miikka Anttila | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 | 3:03:27.4 | 1:48.2 | 6 |
| 4. | Mikko Hirvonen | Jarmo Lehtinen | Ford Focus RS WRC 07 | 3:03:56.9 | 2:17.7 | 5 |
| 5. | Petter Solberg | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC 07 | 3:04:35.0 | 2:55.8 | 4 |
| 6. | Guy Wilks | Phil Pugh | Subaru Impreza WRC | 3:07:37.1 | 5:57.9 | 3 |
| 7. | Matthew Wilson | Michael Orr | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 | 3:11:44.1 | 10:04.9 | 2 |
| 8. | Gareth McHale | Allan Harryman | Ford Focus RS WRC 06 | 3:12:47.5 | 11:08.3 | 1 |
| PCWRC |||||||
| 1. (10.) | Niall McShea | Marshall Clarke | Subaru Impreza | 3:18:11.3 | 0.0 | 10 |
| 2. (11.) | Gabriel Pozzo | Daniel Stillo | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 | 3:18:55.4 | 44.1 | 8 |
| 3. (17.) | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Chris Patterson | Subaru Impreza C 07 | 3:22:42.4 | 4:31.1 | 6 |
| 4. (18.) | Simone Campedelli | Danilo Fappani | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 | 3:24:47.2 | 6:35.9 | 5 |
| 5. (20.) | Štěpán Vojtěch | Michal Ernst | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 | 3:26:45.4 | 8:34.1 | 4 |
| 6. (21.) | Fumio Nutahara | Daniel Barritt | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 | 3:27:32.8 | 9:21.5 | 3 |
| 7. (22.) | Colm Murphy | Ger Loughrey | Subaru Impreza | 3:27:34.6 | 9:23.3 | 2 |
| 8. (23.) | Philip Morrow | David Senior | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 | 3:28:46.9 | 10:35.6 | 1 |

## Retirements

* Eugene Donnelly - mechanical (SS4);
* Marcus Grönholm - went off the road - hit the wall (SS4);
* Xavier Pons - mechanical - engine (SS4);
* Andreas Aigner - went off the road (SS7);
* Kris Meeke - mechanical (SS9);
* Andrew Nesbitt - went off the road (SS11);
* Gareth Jones - mechanical (SS11);
* Ray Breen - went off the road (SS11);
* Tim McNulty - mechanical (SS12);
* Manfred Stohl - mechanical (SS13);
* Mark Higgins - rolled (SS16) ;
* Leszek Kuzaj - mechanical (SS16);
* Patrik Flodin - mechanical (SS17);
* Armindo Araújo - went off the road (SS19);

## Special Stages

All dates and times are GMT (UTC).
| Leg | Stage | Time | Name | Length | Winner | Time | Avg. spd. | Rally leader |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SSS1 | 19:00 (15-Nov) | Stormont | 1.82 km | M. Grönholm | 1:30.8 | 72.16 km/h | M. Grönholm |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS2 | 08:05 (16-Nov) | Geevagh 1 | 11.47 km | S. Loeb | 6:05.7 | 112.92 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS3 | 08:33 | Arigna 1 | 27.89 km | D. Sordo | 15:44.0 | 106.36 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS4 | 09:24 | Lough Gill 1 | 20.56 km | D. Sordo | 10:54.7 | 113.05 km/h | D. Sordo |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS5 | 11:29 | Geevagh 2 | 11.47 km | S. Loeb | 6:22.0 | 108.09 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS6 | 11:57 | Arigna 2 | 27.89 km | S. Loeb | 16:09.6 | 103.55 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS7 | 12:48 | Lough Gill 2 | 20.56 km | D. Sordo | 10:55.5 | 112.92 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS8 | 15:01 | Glenboy | 22.25 km | S. Loeb | 11:56.0 | 111.87 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS9 | 15:54 | Bencroy | 15.43 km | D. Sordo | 8:21.3 | 110.81 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 1 (15/16 Nov) | SS10 | 16:19 | Drumshanbo | 8.65 km | S. Loeb | 5:00.3 | 103.70 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (17 Nov) | SS11 | 8:13 | Sloughan Glen 1 | 20.95 km | S. Loeb | 11:37.7 | 108.10 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (17 Nov) | SS12 | 09:08 | Ballinamallard 1 | 17.95 km | S. Loeb | 9:35.9 | 112.21 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (17 Nov) | SS13 | 09:51 | Tempo 1 | 13.46 km | S. Loeb | 7:31.6 | 107.30 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (17 Nov) | SS14 | 14:04 | Sloughan Glen 2 | 20.95 km | C. Atkinson | 11:25.7 | 109.99 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (17 Nov) | SS15 | 14:59 | Ballinamallard 2 | 17.95 km | S. Loeb | 9:30.7 | 113.23 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 2 (17 Nov) | SS16 | 15:42 | Tempo 2 | 13.46 km | J-M. Latvala | 7:28.9 | 107.94 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (18 Nov) | SS17 | 09:03 | Murley | 24.70 km | M. Hirvonen | 13:19.9 | 111.16 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (18 Nov) | SS18 | 09:51 | Fardross | 14.77 km | M. Hirvonen | 8:49.8 | 100.36 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (18 Nov) | SS19 | 11:39 | Donegal Bay | 14.06 km | J-M. Latvala | 7:00.9 | 120.26 km/h | S. Loeb |
| 3 (18 Nov) | SS20 | 13:08 | Mullaghmore | 2.38 km | P. Solberg | 1:16.9 | 111.42 km/h | S. Loeb |

## Championship standings after the event
### Drivers' championship

| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | NOR | MEX | POR | ARG | ITA | GRC | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | IRL | GBR | Pts |
| 1 | Sébastien Loeb | 1 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 1 | | 110 |
| 2 | Marcus Grönholm | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | Ret | Ret | | 104 |
| 3 | Mikko Hirvonen | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 4 | | 89 |
| 4 | Dani Sordo | 2 | 12 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 24 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | | 61 |
| 5 | Petter Solberg | 6 | Ret | 4 | Ret | 2 | Ret | 5 | 3 | Ret | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | Ret | 5 | | 42 |
| 6 | Henning Solberg | 14 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 16 | | 34 |
| 7 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Ret | Ret | 5 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 12 | Ret | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 26 | 3 | | 30 |
| 8 | Chris Atkinson | 4 | 8 | 19 | 5 | Ret | 7 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 6 | Ret | 42 | | 29 |
| 9 | François Duval | | | | | | | | Ret | | 2 | | 5 | Ret | | | | 12 |
| 9 | Manfred Stohl | 10 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | 14 | 6 | Ret | | 12 |
| 11 | Jan Kopecký | 8 | 10 | 8 | | 22 | | Ret | 7 | Ret | 5 | | Ret | 7 | | | | 10 |
| 11 | Toni Gardemeister | 7 | 6 | Ret | | DSQ | | 6 | | | 7 | | | | | | | 10 |
| 13 | Daniel Carlsson | | 5 | 7 | | 6 | | Ret | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 14 | Matthew Wilson | 12 | Ret | 26 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Ret | 4 | 7 | | 8 |
| 15 | Gigi Galli | | 13 | 6 | | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 |
| 16 | Luís Pérez Companc | | 15 | | 19 | DNS | 28 | Ret | 11 | 11 | | 23 | Ret | | 5 | | | 4 |
| 16 | Xavier Pons | 25 | Ret | 16 | | | | | | 6 | 18 | Ret | 9 | 8 | 36 | Ret | | 4 |
| 18 | Guy Wilks | | | Ret | | Ret | | | 9 | 9 | 10 | | | | | 6 | | 3 |
| 18 | Urmo Aava | | | 28 | | 15 | | 13 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 18 | Ret | 18 | | | 3 |
| 20 | Federico Villagra | | | | | DNS | 9 | 11 | 32 | 14 | | 11 | 13 | | 7 | | | 2 |
| 21 | Juho Hänninen | | DSQ | 17 | | | 11 | 8 | Ret | Ret | | 19 | 23 | | 24 | | | 1 |
| 21 | Mads Østberg | | 9 | 37 | | Ret | | Ret | | 8 | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 21 | Katsuhiko Taguchi | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | | | 1 |
| 21 | Gareth MacHale | 11 | | | Ret | 13 | | Ret | | | | | | | | 8 | | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | MON | SWE | NOR | MEX | POR | ARG | ITA | GRC | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | IRL | GBR | Pts |
Key :
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Did not finish (Ret) |
| Black | Excluded (EX) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Withdrew entry from the event (WD) |

### Manufacturers' championship

| Rank | Manufacturer | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Event | Total points |
| Rank | Manufacturer | MON | SWE | NOR | MEX | POR | ARG | ITA | GRC | FIN | GER | NZL | ESP | FRA | JPN | IRL | GBR | Total points |
| 1 | BP Ford World Rally Team | 10 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 5 | - | 194 |
| 2 | Citroën Total World Rally Team | 18 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 18 | - | 173 |
| 3 | Stobart VK M-Sport Ford | 1 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 9 | - | 80 |
| 4 | Subaru World Rally Team | 8 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | - | 79 |
| 5 | OMV Kronos | 2 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 43 |
| 6 | Munchi's Ford World Rally Team | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | | 0 | 0 | | 8 | | - | 14 |