Catalunya - Ford World Rally Team - FinishFord World Rally Team drivers Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen today claimed their 10th podium finish from 12 rallies this season in Rally de España. The Finns were third at the wheel of a Ford Focus RS World Rally Car to remain
clear leaders of the FIA World Rally Championship with four rounds remaining.
Team-mates Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen were fourth in another Focus RS to ensure Ford retains a healthy lead in the manufacturers' standings.
This three-day event in the mountains of the Tarragona region, south of Barcelona, was the first of two asphalt events on consecutive weekends. Characterised by fast, sweeping roads, this 12th round of the campaign is more like circuit racing in its nature than any other sealed surface encounter. Drivers tackled 18 speed tests covering 352.87km.
All the action came on the first day when inconsistent weather provided constantly changing road conditions and major headaches for teams in their tyre choice. After Grönholm led during the morning, both he and Hirvonen were caught out on dry weather tyres when rain fell during the final special stage.
Rather than risk everything in the slippery conditions, they adopted a safety-first policy and settled into the third and fourth positions they were to occupy for the rest of the event.
With no real opportunity of closing the gap to
Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo ahead, Grönholm settled into a safe, but fast, pace for the remaining two days. He was the quickest driver on both the second day and today's final leg, winning four stages yesterday and three more today.
"Second was the result I really wanted here but that wasn't to be and I can't change it," said 39-year-old Grönholm, who leads the drivers' standings by six points. "I still have a good championship lead but when I lost 30sec in the wet on Friday, my hopes of first or second were destroyed. I just wasn't confident driving in those conditions on dry slick tyres and I was too careful."
Hirvonen, who won a stage on the opening leg, finished 46.0sec behind his fellow countryman. With no chance to catch the drivers in front, he concentrated on staying ahead of fifth-placed François Duval to maximise Ford's points in the manufacturers' championship, which it leads by 39 points.
"First and second was what we really wanted here but in Friday's damp conditions I struggled. In the dry, however, I did really well and I enjoyed driving on these roads. I hit a fence on the penultimate stage but it wasn't a big problem. I tried to take the perfect line but the fence was in my way. I'm not sure if it's there any more – although it was quite a strong fence!" said 27-year-old Hirvonen.
There is no time to relax during this hectic end-of-season period as Ford journeys directly to Corsica for round 13 on next weekend's Rallye de France, another asphalt encounter which is based in Ajaccio on 11-14 October.
Source Ford World Rally Team
