Mikko Hirvonen [BP Ford WRT]:
"To finish the season with a victory is the best possible preparation for 2008, For me to stand on the podium with Sébastien Loeb, winner of four world titles, and Marcus Grönholm, one of the sport's greatest-ever drivers, at the end of such a fantastic season is perfect. It was Marcus' final rally but I wasn't tempted to give him the win. I know him well and he would not have wanted it that way. To finish the year with three wins is so much more than I thought at the start of the season.
"I made things exciting on the final stage when I went off the road and nearly got stuck in a ditch. I'm glad we made it through the weekend in really difficult conditions and I'm pleased for the team that we could end the season with a superb result like this.”
[Speaking after SS17] "We went off [in the last stage]. I hadn't planned it. It was such a stupid place. I went straight on and had to do a 360 degree spin turn in the forest. This season has been fantastic. This is the best possible way to go into 2008. Yes, I'm ready to be team leader. Next year is my chance.”
Marcus Gronholm [BP Ford WRT]:
"We [myself and Timo Rautiainen - my co-driver] were both very emotional at the end of the final stage. To end my career in a team like this is a wonderful feeling. I've enjoyed two years at Ford with almost no problems and had a great car to drive. Although I'm disappointed that I couldn't win the championship, it was clear before I started this rally that it would be difficult.
"This was an incredibly hard weekend. Driving in fog, rain and darkness at the same time was so difficult and as I'm newly-retired, I'm so happy that I don't have to drive in those conditions any more! did all I could but it wasn't here that I missed out on the title, it was when I crashed on the previous round in Ireland."
[Speaking after SS17] "I am disappointed, of course, but okay, it has been a difficult rally. We lost the title in Ireland. Will I come back? No, it's okay, I've had enough."
Sebastien Loeb [Citroen Total WRT]:
"Its just fantastic! Finishing third today after such a frustrating rally means we are the World Champions for the fourth year running. The challenge we faced before the start was not as simple as all that. We have been fighting to make it back to the top of the championship ever since the day we went off in Sardinia but we always believed we would succeed. The combination of the Citroën C4's potential on all the different types of surface that make up the championship and the excellent work put in by everyone at Citroën Sport kept us in the chase and it's really great to have pulled it off today! Of my four titles, this was without doubt the most hotly contested. To have succeeded after such a fierce fight with Marcus Grönholm on stages across the world gives it a very special flavour. I know Marcus would have liked to have ended his retirement year by taking the crown, but I'm only half sorry he didn't! On the other hand, I am glad to have clinched the title on Guy Fréquelin's last rally as the boss of Citroën Sport."
