WRC 2017: Is there finally a rivalry in an otherwise unpredictable season?

Prior to the 2017 motorsport season, there two things one could almost always count on. A Mercedes would win in F1 or a Volkswagen would win in WRC, and that too most likely Sebastien Ogier.

Well, Ferrari's rapid progress in the hands of Sebastian Vettel has ensured that F1 fans have been kept guessing so far as Lewis Hamilton and Vettel go at it.

Following Volkswagen's abrupt WRC departure a fair bit of uncertainty was thrown into the mix in the top tier of rallying too.

The first four rounds saw four different winners as well as Toyota's Jari-Matti Latvala lead the points standings at one point. But the inconsistent Finn soon slipped back into his old ways and has not been to the podium since the second round of the year when he won in Sweden.

Sebastien Ogier has made the best of not having a car that is miles ahead of any other by consistently finishing in the podium in all the rounds except for one in Argentina.

But since the Mexico round, where Kris Meeke of Citroen nearly threw away a win, one driver has matched the fantastic Frenchman for consistency.

FRANCE VS BELGIUM
Thierry Neuville of Hyundai currently lies second in the points standings to M-Sport Ford's Ogier. Twenty-two points separate the two and they are the only two multiple winners in WRC this year.

After throwing away what looked like a win in the opening round in Monte Carlo and a certain podium in Sweden, Neuville has been third in Mexico, won at France and Argentina and was second in Portugal to Ogier.

Due to the regulation changes that see the championship leader start the running on only the opening day, Ogier has found things less arduous when it comes to clawing back a deficit. But Neuville has definitely been keeping him honest.

Two fourth places and two third place finishes for Dani Sordo have been proof of Hyundai's overall competitiveness rather than just one driver making the i20 WRC punch above its weight.

Just 26 points separate M-Sport Ford and Hyundai Motorsport the manufacturers' championship with seven rounds of the championship left.

A BELATED TREAT
Seeing two top drivers battle it out in two big teams is often more satisfying to motorsport fans than a lot of participants in the hunt for victory. It is what WRC fans had hoped for in 2013 when Ogier would lead VW's charge to unseat Sebastien Loeb and Citroen.

Sadly with Loeb choosing a truncated campaign that never came to pass. But we are seeing Ogier - now a veteran at the age of 33 and a four-time champion - be challenged by 28-year-old Neuville who is coming into his own as the leader at Hyundai.

It has been a rocky path for the Belgian and indeed Hyundai to get to this point and being blown into the weeds by Volkswagen didn't help matters either.

But now with the playing field a little more level we are seeing a rivalry that would remind long-time fans of the days of Tommi Makkinen, Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Richard Burns all going at it.

It's a shot in the arm that WRC most definitely needed.