After coming frustratingly close on a number of occasions since his last WRC victory in Argentina in 2003, Peugeot-Michelin's Marcus Grönholm was finally back to winning ways last weekend in Finland. The local star took control on the afternoon of Day 1 and was never seriously challenged as he steam-rollered his way to the fourth win of his career on his home event.
Last year's Rally Finland winner Markko Märtin took his Ford-Michelin to 2nd place, while 3rd place for Citroën-Michelin's Carlos Sainz produced the fifth all-Michelin podium of the year from nine rounds, on this occasion with three different partners. The French tyres posted fastest time on every one of the event's 22 stages and continue to lead both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' World Championships with Sébastien Loeb (4th in Finland) and Citroën.
Peugeot Sport ended an unprecedented barren run that has seen the team go without victory since its success in Rally Argentina back in May 2003 with a victory in Finland that made for a successful few weeks in WRC for Michelin. Carlos Sainz became the first driver to record 26 WRC wins as he led a one-two success for Citroën-Michelin in Argentina in late July but it was the man responsible for that 2003 win in the South American sierra, Marcus Grönholm, who reacquainted his team with the taste of victory champagne today in Finland.
Peugeot-Michelin looked almost certain of breaking its duck the minute all three 307 WRCs present in Finland pulled clear to fill the top three places overall by the middle of the afternoon of Day 1. And even though the team's domination was successively dented by the eliminations of early pace-setter Harri Rovanperä and its 'guest driver' Sebastian Lindholm (who both rolled), Grönholm held firm to win comfortably in front of home fans by the margin of 34 seconds ahead of last year's winner Markko Märtin (Ford-Michelin).
Prior to the start, there had been some doubt concerning the latter's ability to drive at maximum speed because of a problem with his sight following his scary accident three weeks ago in Argentina. Yet after taking a little time to settle in, the Estonian proved that he has lost nothing of his form, as illustrated by the five fastest times he recorded on his way to clinching the silver medal.
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the weekend, Carlos Sainz and Sébastien Loeb progressively upped their pace to collect 3rd and 4th places respectively at the finish and a further 11 points for Citroën-Michelin in its bid to take the Manufacturers' crown for the second consecutive season. Loeb's result also consolidates his position at the top of the Drivers' classification which he now leads by a clear 22 points, his task facilitated by the early retirement of one of his main challengers, Petter Solberg (Subaru, accident).
FRÉDÉRIC HENRY-BIABAUD, DEPUTY-DIRECTOR MICHELIN COMPETITION:
"On this highly exacting event, where last year we notched up our 200th WRC success, Michelin is extremely satisfied to have played its part in helping Peugeot secure its 46th victory in the World Rally Championship. We are also delighted to have contributed to the return of Marcus Grönholm to his winning ways, especially on this, his home rally. In fact, it's been a very successful weekend for our tyres which monopolise the final podium with three different partners, Peugeot, Ford and Citroën."
CLIMATE CHANGES… The conditions encountered in this year's World Championship have occasionally gone against tradition. In Greece, for example, the stages were often damp or wet and ground temperatures as low as 12°C were recorded.
This weekend in Finland, conditions were essentially dry and uncharacteristically hot, with ground temperature peaking at 32°C, a feature that only added to the challenge for tyres, especially since the bulk of pre-event testing was done in the wet.
Even so, the individual quota of 70 tyres per driver gave competitors a sufficiently broad choice to ensure they had a competitive option (pattern, compound) for all eight groups of stages and still contribute to the fast and furious battle that marked the early part of the event.
THE CHALLENGE MET… As anticipated, tyre wear was not a problem for Michelin's partners this weekend in Finland, but the tyre challenge was as exacting as ever. And no more so than when the cars landed after the rally's celebrated jumps, always a crucial moment when drivers expect instant grip, traction and steering precision from their tyres as soon as they hit the ground.
For the record, Michelin runners recorded fastest time on all 22 stages with five different drivers (Grönholm, Rovanperä, Märtin, Sainz and Duval) and with three different partners (Peugeot, Ford, Citroën).
