| Ferg | 10-10-2005 10:12 AM |
Gronholm Signs with Ford
�
�
Good news for the Finn and Ford.
[QUOTE]Ford Sign Gronholm for 2006
By Tim Redmayne Monday, 10 October 2005 10:42
Ford have surprised the rallying world by signing Marcus Gronholm to lead their World Rally Championship assault for the next two seasons.
With Gronholm's current team Peugeot quitting the sport at the end of this season, it had been thought that the Finn would sign for a privateer effort next season in readiness for a possible return of a works Citroen team in 2007. However, the double World Champion will drive the blue oval's new Focus RS WRC in 2006.
However Ford have lured Gronholm and co-driver Timo Rautiainen to leave Peugeot after driving with the team for seven seasons. Both Peugeot and Citroen are withdrawing at the end of the year.
They will make their Ford debut in January's Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the 2006 series.
Ford World Rally team director Malcolm Wilson said the agreement with Gronholm was a major boost in the build-up to the 2006 season.
He said: "My priority was to sign a driver of the highest calibre, and clearly Marcus Gronholm is that driver. 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."
Gronholm, 37, made his world rally debut in 1989 and has started 115 full world rallies. He has won 18 events, winning the world title in 2000 and 2002. Rautiainen has partnered him in all his successes.
An announcement on Ford's full line-up for next season will be made in due course.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Ford Sign Gronholm for 2006
By Tim Redmayne Monday, 10 October 2005 10:42
Ford have surprised the rallying world by signing Marcus Gronholm to lead their World Rally Championship assault for the next two seasons.
With Gronholm's current team Peugeot quitting the sport at the end of this season, it had been thought that the Finn would sign for a privateer effort next season in readiness for a possible return of a works Citroen team in 2007. However, the double World Champion will drive the blue oval's new Focus RS WRC in 2006.
However Ford have lured Gronholm and co-driver Timo Rautiainen to leave Peugeot after driving with the team for seven seasons. Both Peugeot and Citroen are withdrawing at the end of the year.
They will make their Ford debut in January's Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the 2006 series.
Ford World Rally team director Malcolm Wilson said the agreement with Gronholm was a major boost in the build-up to the 2006 season.
He said: "My priority was to sign a driver of the highest calibre, and clearly Marcus Gronholm is that driver. 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."
Gronholm, 37, made his world rally debut in 1989 and has started 115 full world rallies. He has won 18 events, winning the world title in 2000 and 2002. Rautiainen has partnered him in all his successes.
An announcement on Ford's full line-up for next season will be made in due course.[/QUOTE]
| XenoWolf | 10-10-2005 10:40 AM |
Wow, I guess that privateer team idea went down the ****ter pretty quickly...
I guess this also means that there won't be any Peugeots running next season? (Unless Loeb comes up with something)
I guess this also means that there won't be any Peugeots running next season? (Unless Loeb comes up with something)
| asquaredrex | 10-10-2005 11:09 AM |
^^^
I'd bet that Loeb would stick with a privateer Citroen team. I think he wouldn't have much trouble getting financing for a french driver in a french car the team. In fact, I'll bet he will probably have a bunch of those potential sponsors observing in Corsica this weekend.
I'd bet that Loeb would stick with a privateer Citroen team. I think he wouldn't have much trouble getting financing for a french driver in a french car the team. In fact, I'll bet he will probably have a bunch of those potential sponsors observing in Corsica this weekend.
| BryanH | 10-10-2005 11:16 AM |
I think this is GREAT!
Thumbs up to ford on getting a top notch driver.
Thumbs up to ford on getting a top notch driver.
| Bort | 10-10-2005 12:23 PM |
It should be interesting to see how Marcus adapts to the new ride. Markko Martin seemed like he could drive the Focus better than the 307. It just suited him better.
The Focus is an excellent rally car aside from the stupid combination manual shifter/handbrake lever. I can't wait to see Marcus rant about that.:lol:
The Focus is an excellent rally car aside from the stupid combination manual shifter/handbrake lever. I can't wait to see Marcus rant about that.:lol:
| AdvanSTI | 10-10-2005 12:49 PM |
[IMG]http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/05/focuswrc06.jpg[/IMG] :banana:
YAY! i would haven been disapointed of Markus went to a privateer team. lets see if ford can start getting some poliums again, and lets see if in 2006 they make the RS more reliable. so lets see..... next year so far i Subaru/Ford/Mitsubishi, any word on skoda yet? or are they still thinking about leaving for 2006? i bet seb isn't going to go to a privateer either. i have a feeling mitsubishi will sign him.
YAY! i would haven been disapointed of Markus went to a privateer team. lets see if ford can start getting some poliums again, and lets see if in 2006 they make the RS more reliable. so lets see..... next year so far i Subaru/Ford/Mitsubishi, any word on skoda yet? or are they still thinking about leaving for 2006? i bet seb isn't going to go to a privateer either. i have a feeling mitsubishi will sign him.
| mykrrrr | 10-10-2005 04:57 PM |
Good for Marcus. I really hope that they keep Toni Gardemeister on in '06. He's doing pretty well and could learn from Marcus.
I sorta doubt Seb will go to Mitsu as I don't think they probably don't have the kind of $$$ to pay a double world champion w/o an influx of sponsorship $$$.
Also, I hope that Skoda stays in WRC and McRae/Grist are picked as #1 crew. I think they'd help Skoda a LOT.
-mykr.
I sorta doubt Seb will go to Mitsu as I don't think they probably don't have the kind of $$$ to pay a double world champion w/o an influx of sponsorship $$$.
Also, I hope that Skoda stays in WRC and McRae/Grist are picked as #1 crew. I think they'd help Skoda a LOT.
-mykr.
| HomerJay | 10-10-2005 09:32 PM |
[QUOTE=AdvanSTI][IMG][IMG]http://www.rsportscars.com/foto/05/focuswrc06.jpg[/IMG][/IMG] [/QUOTE]
That car is way sexay! I still love it. Give me a hot hatch Subaru! :D
That car is way sexay! I still love it. Give me a hot hatch Subaru! :D
| Anibalz | 10-11-2005 04:01 AM |
I think they should sign Mikko Hirvonen or Francois Duval, or both instead of McRae. Mikko and Francois have good experience on WRC cars and they have improved a lot and also will cost Skoda much less than McRae. A season with two better driver will give Skoda a better idea of the performance of the Fabia and if they do well, then can sign a former champion. I don'thave anything against Colin, just looking at Skoda's financial situation and i wouldn't want them to leave the WRC, like PSA teams will do. Also, hope the Ford team doesn't struggle with the new car like the Peugeot team did with the 307 on it's first season. Marcus seems more down to earth now that he doesn't win so often and the 307 is reliable. Not ranting or complaining so much about the car or showing off for leading.
| bjorn240 | 10-11-2005 07:32 AM |
Yes, that makes sense. Hirvonen and Duval are really known for their ability to test and provide feedback to the engineers. Oh, wait, no they aren't.
If Skoda wants to develop their car (and one hopes they do), a driver who can provide solid information to the engineers should be priority one. McRae would be a good choice, from that perspective.
- Christian
If Skoda wants to develop their car (and one hopes they do), a driver who can provide solid information to the engineers should be priority one. McRae would be a good choice, from that perspective.
- Christian
| Ferg | 10-11-2005 08:48 AM |
[QUOTE=bjorn240]If Skoda wants to develop their car (and one hopes they do), a driver who can provide solid information to the engineers should be priority one. McRae would be a good choice, from that perspective.
- Christian[/QUOTE]
Good call.
I recently read a quote from a "source" at Skoda that said,
"We got more feedback from Colin in 10 days than we have from the other drivers all year."
- Christian[/QUOTE]
Good call.
I recently read a quote from a "source" at Skoda that said,
"We got more feedback from Colin in 10 days than we have from the other drivers all year."
| hikeeba | 10-11-2005 10:12 AM |
The feedback issue was one thing that Nicky mentioned quite a bit during the Rally GB. I think Colin and Nicky could be the key element that Skoda needs to get their program up and running, finally.
When Colin left the WRC, he was one of the highest-paid drivers. It sounds as though he is very interested in driving again. Perhaps he'd be willing to settle for a smaller salary, just to get back into the action.
For both McRae and Skoda, it all boils down to THE one question: How bad do you want it? How bad does Colin want to drive again? How bad does Skoda want to become a contender, and actually participate in a full season?
When Colin left the WRC, he was one of the highest-paid drivers. It sounds as though he is very interested in driving again. Perhaps he'd be willing to settle for a smaller salary, just to get back into the action.
For both McRae and Skoda, it all boils down to THE one question: How bad do you want it? How bad does Colin want to drive again? How bad does Skoda want to become a contender, and actually participate in a full season?
| CirrusWRX | 10-11-2005 12:38 PM |
I think this is a good sign that at least we won't be losing Ford in the WRC- It was my understanding they lost a bit of money over the years for their rally(e) programe, and I think some including myself were worried they too would pull out of WRC, leaving even FEWER competitors. I love my blue and gold just as much as anybody, but Subaru vs. nobody is not exciting nor good for the sport.
| AdvanSTI | 10-11-2005 01:27 PM |
[QUOTE=Anibalz]I think they should sign Mikko Hirvonen or Francois Duval, or both instead of McRae. Mikko and Francois have good experience on WRC cars and they have improved a lot and also will cost Skoda much less than McRae. A season with two better driver will give Skoda a better idea of the performance of the Fabia and if they do well, then can sign a former champion. I don'thave anything against Colin, just looking at Skoda's financial situation and i wouldn't want them to leave the WRC, like PSA teams will do. Also, hope the Ford team doesn't struggle with the new car like the Peugeot team did with the 307 on it's first season. Marcus seems more down to earth now that he doesn't win so often and the 307 is reliable. Not ranting or complaining so much about the car or showing off for leading.[/QUOTE]
i agree with that mostly. but duval crashes almost as much as collin mccrash, lol or atleast this season. but if skoda wants any chance in stepping up their game they're going to need someone like collin, or seb. otherwise it will be pointless to stay in the WRC
i agree with that mostly. but duval crashes almost as much as collin mccrash, lol or atleast this season. but if skoda wants any chance in stepping up their game they're going to need someone like collin, or seb. otherwise it will be pointless to stay in the WRC
| Scooby-Doode | 10-11-2005 02:13 PM |
[QUOTE=Anibalz]I think they should sign Mikko Hirvonen or Francois Duval, or both instead of McRae. Mikko and Francois have good experience on WRC cars and they have improved a lot and also will cost Skoda much less than McRae. A season with two better driver will give Skoda a better idea of the performance of the Fabia and if they do well, then can sign a former champion. I don'thave anything against Colin, just looking at Skoda's financial situation and i wouldn't want them to leave the WRC, like PSA teams will do. Also, hope the Ford team doesn't struggle with the new car like the Peugeot team did with the 307 on it's first season. Marcus seems more down to earth now that he doesn't win so often and the 307 is reliable. Not ranting or complaining so much about the car or showing off for leading.[/QUOTE]
Somehow I think funding won't be an issue for Skoda, if they indeed wanted to hire Colin McRae. VW knows there is a huge market shared to be gained by the Skoda name, especially in Asia. I am sure Skoda is under immense pressure to show good results to VW, the hiring of McRae will help enormously.
Somehow I think funding won't be an issue for Skoda, if they indeed wanted to hire Colin McRae. VW knows there is a huge market shared to be gained by the Skoda name, especially in Asia. I am sure Skoda is under immense pressure to show good results to VW, the hiring of McRae will help enormously.
| iwanbo | 10-11-2005 02:56 PM |
I'm kind of disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing Markus and Seb working together on a privateer team. I think it would have been pretty interesting to see those results :)
Reguardless it's nice to know that Markus will be back next year. Subaru already said they will be keeping Solberg and Atkinson, right? What will happen with Loeb? Is he leaving the sport? As much as I hate seeing him win so much, I'd hate to see him go.
Reguardless it's nice to know that Markus will be back next year. Subaru already said they will be keeping Solberg and Atkinson, right? What will happen with Loeb? Is he leaving the sport? As much as I hate seeing him win so much, I'd hate to see him go.
| WRXinWhite | 10-12-2005 01:10 AM |
[QUOTE=Scooby-Doode]Somehow I think funding won't be an issue for Skoda, if they indeed wanted to hire Colin McRae. VW knows there is a huge market shared to be gained by the Skoda name, especially in Asia. I am sure Skoda is under immense pressure to show good results to VW, the hiring of McRae will help enormously.[/QUOTE]
I believe that in Skoda's case VW is the problem not the solution. VW killed the old Octavia and fired Czech team management. The new boss borrowed from Audi is clueless about rallying and his hiring decisions do make much sense, look at Armin Schwarz who is not even liked by German fans. VW did not really support the old Seat team either. Their S1600 car flopped and I believe that they are ready to call it quits. VW is trying to change its profile to become more of the luxury car maker, so I would not be surprised if they killed rally program and went to some sort of circuit racing.
I believe that in Skoda's case VW is the problem not the solution. VW killed the old Octavia and fired Czech team management. The new boss borrowed from Audi is clueless about rallying and his hiring decisions do make much sense, look at Armin Schwarz who is not even liked by German fans. VW did not really support the old Seat team either. Their S1600 car flopped and I believe that they are ready to call it quits. VW is trying to change its profile to become more of the luxury car maker, so I would not be surprised if they killed rally program and went to some sort of circuit racing.
| Smelli Bugatti | 10-12-2005 08:24 PM |
Will we ever see Richard Burns return or did he retire because of his condition ?
| AdvanSTI | 10-12-2005 09:12 PM |
i doubt it. hes been out of it for what... 2 years now? almost 3 plus its going to take a while to recover from something like that.
| CirrusWRX | 10-13-2005 09:44 AM |
^there's another thread going on right now about it and from what people have said, things aren't looking very good right now, but there is still hope...
| rexxer | 10-13-2005 01:38 PM |
I want to hear Marcus' comments about the Focus as compared to the Peugeot. I know he thought the Peugeot was a piece of junk.
| Rallycarperson | 10-13-2005 02:04 PM |
Interesting. Both Gronholm and Ford are very consistant in their times...so I think he will do good in the 06 season.
So much for the Citroen privateer idea...
~Mark
So much for the Citroen privateer idea...
~Mark
| AdvanSTI | 10-13-2005 02:06 PM |
[QUOTE=rexxer]I want to hear Marcus' comments about the Focus as compared to the Peugeot. I know he thought the Peugeot was a piece of junk.[/QUOTE]
if he can get on the podium with that piece of ass, think of how good he will do with the focus. lets just hope it doesn't break down alot. even with the withdrawl of peugeot/citroen, i think its still going to be a great season. Mitsubishi is getting faster and faster, ford got a top ranked driver now, subaru fixed whatever was wrong with the car, and HOPEFULLY Skoda will get McCrash. :banana:
This is from the WRC
"Martin and his manager, Paul Turner, would already have been looking for an alternate home for 2006 as the Peugeot team is pulling out of the WRC at the end of this year. The Estonianhas been strongly linked to a return to Ford - which announced this week that it has signed double champion Marcus Gronholm, Martin's current team-mate at Peugeot."
your thoughts?
if he can get on the podium with that piece of ass, think of how good he will do with the focus. lets just hope it doesn't break down alot. even with the withdrawl of peugeot/citroen, i think its still going to be a great season. Mitsubishi is getting faster and faster, ford got a top ranked driver now, subaru fixed whatever was wrong with the car, and HOPEFULLY Skoda will get McCrash. :banana:
This is from the WRC
"Martin and his manager, Paul Turner, would already have been looking for an alternate home for 2006 as the Peugeot team is pulling out of the WRC at the end of this year. The Estonianhas been strongly linked to a return to Ford - which announced this week that it has signed double champion Marcus Gronholm, Martin's current team-mate at Peugeot."
your thoughts?
| SlideWRX | 10-13-2005 02:07 PM |
[QUOTE=rexxer]I want to hear Marcus' comments about the Focus as compared to the Peugeot. I know he thought the Peugeot was a piece of junk.[/QUOTE]
"No power steeling, and ve haf tooo long stages to go. I am fed up with dis car!"
I always love that quote at the end of the 04 video.
Tom
"No power steeling, and ve haf tooo long stages to go. I am fed up with dis car!"
I always love that quote at the end of the 04 video.
Tom
| DougM | 10-13-2005 03:50 PM |
i'd like to see the Subaru/Martin/Solberg combo again
| Golfa | 10-13-2005 04:16 PM |
cool news! should be interesting, I bet he will do VERY well for them
| Rallycarperson | 10-13-2005 09:29 PM |
[QUOTE=rexxer]I want to hear Marcus' comments about the Focus as compared to the Peugeot. I know he thought the Peugeot was a piece of junk.[/QUOTE]
I don't know about that...
The 04 season wasn't exactly the best for Peugeot, but this 05 season he is in second place in the drivers points and Peugeot is second in manufacture points. I would like to see Peugeot progress...but they bailed. :(
~Mark
I don't know about that...
The 04 season wasn't exactly the best for Peugeot, but this 05 season he is in second place in the drivers points and Peugeot is second in manufacture points. I would like to see Peugeot progress...but they bailed. :(
~Mark
| az ej20 fan | 10-14-2005 02:36 AM |
I'd like to hear what Marcus has to say about the Ford as well. It seems like he was pretty unhappy with the Pirelli's that the team has been running...coupled with less-than-stellar performance of the 307.
Please let Colin, RB and Carlos come back...this season has been pretty dry. We need some of these guys back to bring some life back into the WRC!!!
Please let Colin, RB and Carlos come back...this season has been pretty dry. We need some of these guys back to bring some life back into the WRC!!!
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét