Gronholm reigns at Stormont Castle
Thursday, 15 November 2007 22:16Championship leader Marcus Gronholm triumphed in Thursday night's superspecial stage in the grounds of Stormont to take a slim advantage over World Rally Championship title rival Sebastien Loeb in Rally Ireland.
Finland's Gronholm completed the 1.82-kilometre stage in one minute 30.8 seconds in his BP Ford, 0.9 seconds ahead of France's Loeb (Citroen), who was second.
Local favourite Kris Meeke (Subaru) had led for much of the evening until Gronholm and Loeb went head to head. The 28-year-old finished third, one second behind Gronholm.
The stage took place in near-perfect weather conditions. The November night was cold and dry but the 7C temperature was an indication of the difficulties encountered by the drivers, who found the surface slippery. However, this did not detract from the anticipation of what promises to be a tremendous few days of rallying.
'It was slippery around the stage but I enjoyed myself immensely and can't wait to get to Sligo,' said Gronholm.
More than 11,500 rally fans turned up to the sell-out event and they drew unanimous praise from the competitors.
Ford's Andreas Mikkelsen said: 'The crowd was wonderful - it was just a brilliant setting.'
Loeb requires a victory in Ireland to keep his hopes of a fourth successive world title alive, while Gronholm, who is set to retire at the end of the season, is hoping to bow out with a third title.
RALLY IRELAND (ROUND 15 OF FIA WRC)
Overnight positions after opening stage at Stormont Castle:
1 Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen (Ford Focus WRC) 1minute 30.8seconds
2 Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena (Citroen C4 WRC) 1m 31.7s
3 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1m 31.8s
4 Chris Atkinson/Stephane Prevot (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1m 32.0s
5 Petter Solberg/Phil Mills (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1m 32.2s
6 Jari Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (Ford Focus WRC) 1m 32.5s
7 Mikko Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen (Ford Focus WRC) 1m 32.5s
8 Dani Sordo/Marc Marti (Citroen C4 WRC) 1m 32.7s
9 Xavier Pons/Xavier Amigo (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1m 33.3s
10 Manfred Stohl/Ilka Minor (Citroen Xsara WRC) 1m 33.3s
11 Guy Wilks/Phil Pugh (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1m 33.7s
12 Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene (Ford Focus WRC) 1m 34.0s
