The chase is on: Who will seize the WRC crown?

Is the title Thierry Neuville’s to throw away? Yes, he’s 27 points in the lead, but there’s plenty of mileage left – quite literally – to run in this race.

All four Toyota drivers – Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta – can still be champion. So can Neuville's Hyundai team-mate Ott Tänak. And M-Sport Ford star Adrien Fourmaux. It’s fair to say some of the above are more likely to challenge than others.

Point is, with 120 points on the table, there’s opportunity everywhere for those chasing the Belgian. Is it too early for Neuville to start thinking about the title and switching his on-event strategy away from chasing a win to managing his championship lead? Quite possibly.

But look where we’re going… to Lamia for EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. How can you manage anything on an event as rough, rocky and all around challenging as that?

Next up, Chile. Remember last year? Who could have predicted the incredibly abrasive, tyre-shredding conditions which made the going on the South American event so tough?

Central Europe in the autumn anybody? Which way’s the weather going? And now pick your tyres for the morning loop – same for FORUM8 Rally Japan. You only have to look to the day on deluge delivered in the hills around Toyota City to know nothing’s done until the season’s last Sunday.

Part one was an absolute thriller. Expect nothing less from part two