# Who was the best WRC driver of the 2000s?

> Six straight titles went one way, yet this decade also had Finnish rivals, a Norwegian showman and tarmac specialists who stole the odd weekend.

*By YPB Team · Published November 1, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-was-the-best-wrc-driver-of-the-2000s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Marcus Gronholm** — score 1000/1000
   Flying Finn who took world titles with Peugeot in 2000 and 2002 and pushed Loeb hard with Ford.
2. **Petter Solberg** — score 826/1000
   Norwegian showman who won the 2003 world title for Subaru.
3. **Francois Duval** — score 791/1000
   Belgian tarmac talent who won Rally Australia 2005 for Citroen.
4. **Dani Sordo** — score 753/1000
   Spanish Citroen driver and tarmac specialist who stacked up podiums alongside Loeb.
5. **Mikko Hirvonen** — score 668/1000
   Ford team leader who finished runner-up to Loeb three years running from 2008.
6. **Carlos Sainz** — score 565/1000
   Two-time champion from Spain who stayed a race winner for Ford and Citroen into the mid-2000s.
7. **Colin McRae** — score 439/1000
   Flat-out Scot who won rallies for Ford and was title runner-up in 2001.
8. **Tommi Makinen** — score 439/1000
   Four-time champion who won the 2001 and 2002 Monte Carlo rallies after his Mitsubishi reign.
9. **Toni Gardemeister** — score 439/1000
   Finnish driver who scored podiums for Skoda, Ford and Peugeot through the decade.
10. **Jari-Matti Latvala** — score 0/1000
   Youngest WRC winner when he took Sweden in 2008 at age 22.
11. **Manfred Stohl** — score 0/1000
   Austrian privateer who reached fourth in the 2006 championship.
12. **Sebastien Loeb** — score 0/1000
   Citroen ace who won six straight world titles from 2004 to 2009 and rewrote the record books.
13. **Gilles Panizzi** — score 0/1000
   French tarmac master who won in Corsica, San Remo and Spain for Peugeot.
14. **Harri Rovanpera** — score 0/1000
   Finnish Peugeot driver who won the 2001 Swedish Rally.

Tags: 2000s, drivers, motorsport, wrc, rally