Marcus Grönholm
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| Marcus Grönholm | |
|---|---|
 Grönholm at the 2006 Telstra Rally Australia. |
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| World Rally Championship record | |
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Active years | 1989 – |
| Teams | Toyota, Peugeot, Ford |
| World rallies | 133 |
| Championships | 2 (2000, 2002) |
| Wins | 26 |
| Podium finishes | 51 |
| Stage wins | 457 |
| Points | 513 |
| First world rally | 1989 1000 Lakes Rally |
| First win | 2000 Swedish Rally |
| edit | |
Marcus "Bosse" Grönholm (born February 5, 1968 in Kauniainen) is a rally driver from Finland. He won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. He also won the 2002 Race of Champions, taking home the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy and earning the title "Champion of Champions".
Grönholm featured in various bit-part roles in the world series throughout the 1990s, most notably with Toyota with whom he drove Celicas and Corolla WRCs. It was only when he joined championship newcomers Peugeot for 1999 that he began to enjoy such meteoric success. He took his first championship win on the 2000 Swedish Rally with the 206 WRC. After an irksome and unsuccessful championship defence in 2001 during which assorted mechanical problems kept him down to 4th overall in the points table, he easily won his second title in 2002, at times displaying Michael Schumacher-esque dominance.
For the 2006 season, Grönholm switched to the Ford team, driving their all-new 2006-specification Focus WRC. On his debut, in January, he won his first ever tarmac rally in Monte Carlo, beating Sébastien Loeb by over a minute, albeit beaten by the Frenchman on the road with the championship's unliked 'Superally' regulations coming to his rescue as a shunt for the Citroën hastened its exit from Leg One. Although he was to follow this up with an entirely credible win in the second event of the season, Sweden, subsequent events saw Loeb surge past into a comfortable lead until he had a biking accident that nearly cost him the title, Marcus was able to push within one point in the total standings as Loeb recovered.
The 2007 season has started in a good fashion for Grönholm claiming third place in Monte Carlo Rally and then the top spot in Uddeholm Swedish Rally.
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[edit] Trivia
- Grönholm's father Ulf "Uffe" Grönholm was also a rally driver and a two-time Finnish champion. He died on February 25, 1981 in Kirkkonummi during a practice run for Hankiralli.
- In his teens Grönholm was fond of motocross as a recreational activity, but a serious knee injury forced a switch to boxing.
- Marcus Grönholm has a very cheeky sense of humor and he lets it show through in a way that most of the younger more media trained drivers do not. This is most apparent in his native Finnish and Swedish languages.
Heigh:1,98 Weight:86kg
[edit] Titles
| Year | Title | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Finnish champion (Group N) | Toyota Celica GT-Four |
| 1994 | Finnish champion (Group A) | Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD |
| 1996 | Finnish champion (Group A) | Toyota Celica GT-Four |
| 1997 | Finnish champion (Group A) | Toyota Celica GT-Four |
| 1998 | Finnish champion (Group A) | Toyota Corolla WRC / Toyota Celica GT-Four |
| 2000 | World Rally Champion | Peugeot 206 WRC |
| 2002 | World Rally Champion | Peugeot 206 WRC |
| 2002 | Champion of Champions | Varies |
[edit] WRC wins
[edit] External links
1977: Sandro Munari (FIA Cup) · 1978: Markku Alén (FIA Cup) · 1979: Björn Waldegård · 1980: Walter Röhrl · 1981: Ari Vatanen · 1982: Walter Röhrl · 1983: Hannu Mikkola · 1984: Stig Blomqvist · 1985: Timo Salonen · 1986-1987: Juha Kankkunen · 1988-1989: Massimo Biasion · 1990: Carlos Sainz · 1991: Juha Kankkunen · 1992: Carlos Sainz · 1993: Juha Kankkunen · 1994: Didier Auriol · 1995: Colin McRae · 1996-1999: Tommi Mäkinen · 2000: Marcus Grönholm · 2001: Richard Burns · 2002: Marcus Grönholm · 2003: Petter Solberg · 2004-2006: Sébastien Loeb
See also: List of drivers · List of records
