by Russell Atkins

Despite having decided to hang up his helmet after almost two decades of World Rally Championship competition, Marcus Grönholm has insisted the future remains bright for his Ford team – but was less confident over the chances of his young compatriot and team-mate Mikko Hirvonen taking over his mantle as a title challenger.

The 39-year-old – world champion in both 2000 and 2002 – was bidding to make it a hat-trick this year, and led for the vast majority of the campaign until an error on stage four of the penultimate round in Ireland saw his Ford Focus RS WRC '07 leave the road, and with it effectively torpedo his title charge.

“It was disappointing,” he admitted to Crash.net Radio, reflecting on the incontrovertible low point of his year. “On a scale from one to ten it ranked as a ten. I was hoping to end my rallying career with a championship title. It looked good up until Ireland when Seb (Loeb) took the lead, and then on Wales Rally GB it was impossible to do anything about it because he made no mistakes.”

Grönholm ultimately wound up just four points adrift of glory after triumphing five times to Loeb's eight during the campaign. He fought a number of no-holds barred battles with his French rival along the way, and singled out his New Zealand victory as a particularly striking and happy memory.

“There were many highlights in terms of wins,” he stated, “but maybe I'd say New Zealand was the biggest one when we beat Seb by 0.3s. That was really good – without him it would have been much easier! He was a very good rival.

“Looking back over my career, though, I'm happy to have won two world championships and many rallies.”

He may now be looking back, but there are rumours swirling around that he is also looking forwards, with suggestions the WRC may not have entirely seen the back of Marcus Grönholm just yet.

“We discussed with Malcolm [Wilson] at the end of the year about me maybe coming back to do some rallies,” he explained, “but not for the moment. It won't happen I think, but if I feel that I really want to drive then perhaps it will be possible. It's all on the table – maybe I will stay with Ford as some kind of ambassador instead. Nothing is decided yet.”

As to Ford's chances of defending its hard-fought manufacturers' crown in 2008, Grönholm was unequivocal, though he added he was not sure whether Wales Rally GB winner Hirvonen – another fast Finn following in the master's wheeltracks and a man who finished a strong third in the 2007 drivers' standings, just 13 points behind his team-mate – was quite ready to challenge for world championship glory as soon as 2008.

“I think they can do well,” he asserted. “The car is very good – it's strong, reliable and quick, and Mikko has had a good season with three wins this year. I'm sure he can win many rallies, but it will be difficult to beat Sébastien. Can Mikko fight with Loeb until the end of the championship next year? I don't think so.”