Gronholm seals sixth Finland win UPDATE

Maserati · Postby **Maserati** » August 17th, 2006, 5:54 pm

Home favourite Marcus Gronholm won the Rally of Finland for the sixth time on Sunday, edging out championship leader Sebastien Loeb.
Ford's Gronholm stayed out of trouble on the final day to win by one minute seven seconds from France's Loeb.

Gronholm's fellow Finn and Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen came in third, while Britain's Matthew Wilson was 10th.

Frenchman Loeb still holds a 31-point lead over Gronholm in the overall driver standings.

The win is Gronholm's fourth of the season, following his triumphs in Monte Carlo, Sweden and Greece.

"My car was just perfect throughout the rally," said Gronholm.

"It was really a good rally for me and the team. I could never believe when I drove in this event 10 years ago that we would go on to win so many times."

The 38-year-old, who has now won this event for third year running, took the the lead after the second special stage and claimed 12 of the 22 stages.

Loeb won five stages but his challenge ended on Saturday when his Citroen suffered a puncture after hitting a rock on the 12th stage.

"This is one of the rallies I have never won and it is one of the most fitting rallies for the championship," said Loeb.

"I was able to push Marcus before the puncture but second - it's ok, I'm happy, and it's eight points for the championship.

"I hope I can beat Marcus one year here though."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rally of Finland result:
1. Marcus Gronholm (Fin) Ford 2:52:50.3
2. Sebastien Loeb (Fr) Citroen +1:06.7
3. Mikko Hirvonen (Fin) Ford +1:34.5
4. Henning Solberg (Nor) Peugeot +3:57.8
5. Gianluigi Galli (It) Peugeot +5:39.9
6. Janne Tuohino (Fin) Citroen +6:05.0
7. Jussi Valimaeki (Fin) Mitsubishi +6:55.4
8. Jan Kopecky (Cze) Skoda +10:15.000
9. Manfred Stohl (Aut) Peugeot +13:28.0
10. Matthew Wilson (GB) Ford +14:47.4

Overall driver standings:
1. Loeb 92 pts
2. Gronholm 61
3. Daniel Sordo (Sp) 41
4. Hirvonen 27
5. Stohl 24
6. Petter Solberg (Nor) 20
7. Toni Gardemeister (Fin) 16
8. H Solberg 16
9. Galli 15
10. Xavier Pons (Sp) 11

3stagevtec · Postby **3stagevtec** » August 18th, 2006, 11:48 pm

I saw on ESPN that they were describing Loeb as more successful than ALL other rally drivers (Sainz (spell), McRae, Tommi etc). His percentage of rally wins to rallies entered is almost double the next successful driver! and his initial success is already surpassing that of M Schumacher...

Maserati · Postby **Maserati** » August 18th, 2006, 11:58 pm

perhaps at the moment he is the best but i still hold most respect for the past drivers Tommi etc

3stagevtec · Postby **3stagevtec** » August 19th, 2006, 12:12 am

Agreed! Richard Burns was one of my favorites. Just recently I saw a BM DVD and Tommi was guest staring in it!!! It was fun to see him in action again...

Now Marcus in the lead! Thanks for the updates! $2 on Loeb for the win...

Maserati · Postby **Maserati** » August 19th, 2006, 1:18 am

i miss the days of lancia..toyota..audi..etc those were the real days.

Rory Phoulorie · Postby **Rory Phoulorie** » August 19th, 2006, 10:18 am

3stagevtec wrote:Agreed! Richard Burns was one of my favorites. Just recently I saw a BM DVD and Tommi was guest staring in it!!! It was fun to see him in action again...

Now Marcus in the lead! Thanks for the updates! $2 on Loeb for the win...

You are very wise to put only $2 on Loeb for the win. He hit a rock today, bust the front tire (and mousse system) and lost another 30+ seconds on Gronholm. Check www.crash.net for continual updates. I think that this site is one of the best when it comes to realtime motorsports coverage.