Gronholm scores debut win for Ford in Rallye Monte Carlo

January 22, 2006 New Ford driver Marcus Gronholm claimed victory on his debut in the new Ford Focus RS World Rally Car on the Rallye Monte Carlo today. The BP-Ford World Rally Team triumphed on the legendary Monaco-based event, the opening round of the FIA World Rally Championship, after three-days of demanding competition in treacherous ice and snow in the French Alps. Behind Gronholm, Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) completed a tremendous recovery to finish second after crashing on the opening day. The Frenchman overhauled Toni Gardemeister (Peugeot) on the final stage over the Col de Turini to lead home the Finn by 21.3sec. Gardemeister pulled clear of Manfred Stohl’s Peugeot to claim a comfortable podium with Subaru team-mates Stephane Sarrazin and Chris Atkinson completing the top six. It was Atkinson’s first Monte Carlo Rally and he ran as high as second outright during the event – a remarkable feat and one that augers well for the future of the young driver in only his first full season.

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