RALLY: Finland's Marcus Gronholm leads the Swedish Rally for Peugeot
12 February 2000
Posted by Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
At the end of the first leg, Finland's Marcus Gronholm leads the Swedish
Rally for Peugeot. The last time the French team competed here it was
victorious so there is plenty of pressure on Gronholm to stay at the head
of the leaderboard. Before the event there were fears that the lack of
snow
and a combination of ice and gravel would cause major problems for
everyone
but this has not been a factor so far. Even the tyre companies have been
delighted that the studs - crucial for grip on the ice - have stayed in
place over the gravel. On the subject of the lack of snow, Clerk of the
Course Bertil Klarin told TV reporters this morning: The spectators aren't
worried about the lack of snow providing they are watching tough
competition. With less than one minute covering the top seven cars, that
is exactly what the fans are getting. One stage had to be cancelled and
others shortened (including the frozen lake at Torsby) because of the
conditions.
Peugeot
Marcus Gronholm was told by his team to make sure he finished this event but the Finn was not too happy about this. I want to drive flat out to try and win, he said. We'll see what happens tomorrow but I guess that Tommi will try to be very fast. I will also have to watch both Thomas and Richard - but mainly Tomas. He suffered an early problem when an instrument warning light suggested his rear and centre differential was not working and this proved a distraction in the cockpit. It seems that some for of hydraulic failure was at the root of the problem. Team mate Franois Delecour is suffering from his lack of current knowledge of this event. His last appearance in Sweden was in 1996. I've only seen these stages twice, he said.
Mitsubishi
Tommi Makinen had an early scare when he heard an odd noise from his transmission but this was attributed to it not having been fully 'run in' and he changed a diff after SS2 to cure the problem although some transmission noise remained. Team mate Freddy Loix said, I have a good feeling about the car and the tyres but I am still learning about this rally. I am only driving to about 90% of my pace notes' capability. I was too cautious on SS3 to try and save my tyres. I should have just gone for it. Makinen was clearly driving more than 100% and came close to disaster in SS3 when he went off after the famous big jump. We were lucky not to hit anything, he confessed.
Ford
Sainz: After all the pre-event worries about tyres it was a relief to find that the studs had stayed intact. McRae had an initial problem with a turbo valve that meant the car was easy to stall. It was fixed at the first service at Hagfors. When asked if he thought he could win this event McRae commented: I'd first like to think I could finish it! With nine consecutive non-finishes behind him, McRae is eager to get to the end of a rally for the first time since Portugal 1999. However it was nearly all over on SS5 when McRae had a huge moment that saw the Focus bouncing from one side of the road to another. The colour has only just come back to my cheeks, said co-driver Nicky Grist at the Arvika service halt.
Subaru
Richard Burns said: The tyres and studs are working much better than a year ago but I'm not 100% just yet. He adjusted his seating position after SS1+2 and was promptly fastest on SS3 despite hitting a mail box. We don't know if the letters in the box were important - we haven't had time to read them yet! he joked. Of his performance on the opening stages he said: I'm glad to be at the right end of the battle for the lead but Marcus seems to have everything under control at the moment. His team mate Juha Kankkunen has had a fairly cautious day but has moved up and down the leaderboard as the battle for supremacy has been so tight. The slightest error has been enough to see drivers move several places at a time and so while Kankkunen is currently not quite in the Championship points it is not through any major problem.
SEAT
Didier Auriol had his engine cut out 3km after the finish of SS2 and was 1 minute late into the Hagfors service area. This cost him a 10 seconds penalty although it did not dramatically affect his overall position. Toni Gardemeister was also unhappy with his engine, complaining that he had a maximum speed of 140kph and that the unit was noisy. At times it is like driving a Group N car, he said. Harri Rovanpera in the third (unregistered) SEAT Cordoba suspected he had the same problem. Tracking down the actual cause of the problem has not been easy but it seems that the throttle sensors may be at fault, given that Gardemeister's problems occurred as much on high speed sections as on slower parts of the stages.
Hyundai
It was a day of mixed fortunes for the new team to the FIA World Rally Championship. Kenneth Eriksson had to change a turbo after limping through the first two stages in 40th place. It appears that a pipe worked loose. After it had been replaced Eriksson was able to rapidly climb the leaderboard from 40th to inside the top 20 and set times that showed good promise for the future. I calculated that we would probably lose one second per kilometre but it's been less than that. I'm pleased to be able to beat the SEATs as I've got a new car and they've had three years to reach this level. Alister McRae was much happier and delighted to find the new Accent was running at a similar pace to the SEATs. I'm not 100% confident in the car's handling but we're here to learn and to find ways to improve the car, he said. A loose prop-shaft caused a worrying vibration but otherwise his car ran without drama until an oil leak near the turbo needed attention and led to him leaving service late and incurring a time penalty.
Other Teams
Thomas Radstrom was clearly out to show what he could do in a car he feels happy with. I'm not at all surprised at the way I have started this rally, he said. It's the kind of result I expected. Marcus is going really well but it will be better for me tomorrow. Where I'm running today there is no grip at all in the braking area. Mats Jonsson's hopes of success on his home event were dashed when his engine blew on SS2. The Group N competition was predictably an all-Mitsubishi affair although it was Finland's Juuso Pykalisto who set the early pace from countryman Jani Paasonen. Top Swede was Kenneth Backlund from Stig-Olov Walfridsson with Championship chasing Manfred Stohl fifth. The performances were attributed to the different tyres being used. The Finns' cars were already set up for familiar Lappi tyres while the Swedes have had to abandon their usual nationally approved Michelin rubber for different sized Avon tyres which they are not fully used to. Manfred Stohl is running Pirelli but finding them less suitable than either of the other options. Of the FIA Teams Cup entrants, Krzystof Holowczyc was easily ahead of Abdullah Bakhashab over the early stages.
Leg 2 starts from Karlstad at 06h15 and covers 732.66km, including 153.21km on 6 special stages. The first car is expected in Karlstad at 21h08.
Weather forecast
Possibility of snow, between 0 and +5 degrees
Text provided by: FIA
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