Gronholm: I could have won

ByEurosport

Published 26/03/2006 at 15:38 GMT

Marcus Gronholm believes he could have beaten Sebastien Loeb to victory on the Rally of Catalunya had he not lost time with a turbo problem on Friday. The Finn dropped from the lead to tenth on the opening day but battled back to finish third, winning ten of the 16 stages in the process.

2006 Catalunya Ford Gronholm

Image credit: From Official Website

Gronholm won all four of Sunday's stage to overhaulethe Skoda Fabia WRC of Alex Bengue for third, closing what was once a 2 minute 40 seconds deficit to Loeb to just 1 minute 45 seconds come the end of the event.

"I tried really hard this morning but Bengue was pushing us," he said. "It was hard to make an impact on those stages because they were so fast.

2006 Catalunya Ford Gronholm

Image credit: From Official Website

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"After Friday's problems, everything has been perfect," he added. "When I was in 10th I didn't think a podium was possible. I thought I could achieve fourth but I went one better and in the circumstances that was a good result.

"I could have won without a small technical problem," he predicted. "I knew before the start I could be close to Loeb and the speed of the Focus RS was there for all to see. It didn't surprise me."

Ford team director Malcolm Wilson said he was hugely encouraged by the performance of the Focus RS on its first pure asphalt rally. "Marcus was fastest on both the second and third legs and apart from the two stages where he was slowed on Friday, he was never outside the top two times.

"He won 10 stages out of 16 and the performance of the whole package - car, tyres and driver - has been magnificent," he added. "Mikko delivered a strong performance with some excellent times their efforts have ensured we are just two points off the lead in the manufacturers' championship."

Stay tuned to Eurosport.com/uk for the Rally of Corisca in two week's time.