Mustang
10-10-2005, 07:16 AM
Ford has announced that it has signed double champion Marcus Gronholm to head its renewed assault on the World Rally Championship from the start of next year. The Finn will drive for the team in a two-year deal for 2006 and 2007, when he leaves the Peugeot outfit, which he's driven for since 1999, at the end of this season.
The announcement of Gronholm's move to Ford is a big surprise, as team boss Malcolm Wilson had appeared to accept at the recent Rally Japan that his chances of signing either Gronholm or newly-crowned double champion Sebastien Loeb were slim. The pair - both looking for drives for next year as Citroen and Peugeot are pulling out of the sport - had been linked to a privateer Citroen team that would have formed a stop-gap before the works team's possible return in 2007.
Wilson said that Gronholm's input in a season in which Ford will be giving an all-new and heavily redesigned Focus WRC its debut would be particularly crucial. The Finn has proved he's still able to challenge for wins this year by taking victory in Finland and Japan. He currently lies second in the drivers' standings. His signing also significantly boosts Ford's chances of taking its first title at the sport's top level since Ari Vatanen won the drivers' crown in 1981.
"My priority was to sign a driver of the highest calibre, and clearly Marcus Grönholm is that driver," Wilson said. "His experience of the sport at its highest level will prove invaluable as we continue to develop the new Focus RS WRC. He is one of the sport's very fastest and most reliable drivers and his appetite for success remains as large now as it was at the beginning of his distinguished career.
"A signing of this calibre proves how seriously Ford is taking its commitment to the WRC. And for a driver like Marcus, whose world title ambitions are clear for all to see, to commit to the team for two seasons is a huge confidence boost for all of us."
Next year's 2006-spec Focus WRC - based on the new-look road-going car - will make its competitive debut on the end-of-season Telstra Rally Australia. Ford has yet to announce who will partner Gronholm in the team next year.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/rallying83/2006-Ford-Focus-WRC-S-1024x768.jpg
The announcement of Gronholm's move to Ford is a big surprise, as team boss Malcolm Wilson had appeared to accept at the recent Rally Japan that his chances of signing either Gronholm or newly-crowned double champion Sebastien Loeb were slim. The pair - both looking for drives for next year as Citroen and Peugeot are pulling out of the sport - had been linked to a privateer Citroen team that would have formed a stop-gap before the works team's possible return in 2007.
Wilson said that Gronholm's input in a season in which Ford will be giving an all-new and heavily redesigned Focus WRC its debut would be particularly crucial. The Finn has proved he's still able to challenge for wins this year by taking victory in Finland and Japan. He currently lies second in the drivers' standings. His signing also significantly boosts Ford's chances of taking its first title at the sport's top level since Ari Vatanen won the drivers' crown in 1981.
"My priority was to sign a driver of the highest calibre, and clearly Marcus Grönholm is that driver," Wilson said. "His experience of the sport at its highest level will prove invaluable as we continue to develop the new Focus RS WRC. He is one of the sport's very fastest and most reliable drivers and his appetite for success remains as large now as it was at the beginning of his distinguished career.
"A signing of this calibre proves how seriously Ford is taking its commitment to the WRC. And for a driver like Marcus, whose world title ambitions are clear for all to see, to commit to the team for two seasons is a huge confidence boost for all of us."
Next year's 2006-spec Focus WRC - based on the new-look road-going car - will make its competitive debut on the end-of-season Telstra Rally Australia. Ford has yet to announce who will partner Gronholm in the team next year.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/rallying83/2006-Ford-Focus-WRC-S-1024x768.jpg