Marcus Gronholm started the 2000 FIA World Rally Championship as a rank outsider, but he clearly hadn't read the formbook. Over 14 thrilling rounds the Finn fought off challenges from Richard Burns, Carlos Sainz, Colin McRae and four-times champ Tommi Makinen to defy the odds and win the crown.
From the snow and ice of Monte Carlo and Sweden to the dusty plains of Kenya, the asphalt of Spain and Italy and the mud of Great Britain, the World Rally Championship enjoyed its strongest and most competitive season to date.
Manufacturer entries included Ford, Peugeot, Seat, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Skoda and new boys Hyundai, and the pace of development resulted in spectacular action. Stage records were smashed across four continents and every tenth of a second counted in some of the closest finishes in history.
Thousands of spectators hung from every vantage point to catch the spectacle as the ultimate cars charged over the dust tracks of Greece or Cyprus, across the Australian deserts and through the jump-filled forests of Finland.
The cameras were there to catch all the action: Makinen's Monte glory, Gronholm's and Peugeot's first win in Sweden, McRae's nail-biting success in Spain and Burns' dominance on the Safari. When the sport's top stars pushed too hard - like McRae in Corsica or Burns in Finland - on-board cameras captured the drama.
They didn't miss a moment. Neither should you.