Triple World Rally Championship celebration for Ford

February 6, 2006 Ford has many reasons to celebrate overnight for Marcus Gronholm's win in the Uddeholm Swedish Rally in Karlstad; it was Ford’s 50th win in the World Rally Championship, Gronholm’s 20th WRC win (moving him to equal fifth on the all-time list) and it happened on his 38th birthday. The Finn admitted that he isn't so interested in his age anymore but his second win of the season in the Focus WRC06 was the primary reason to celebrate, having dominated the event and led from the first stage. However, of more interest to Ford its lead in the drivers championship and the manufacturers championship. It was a particularly sweet victory for Ford as despite its long and illustrious rally history (the Zodiac, Zephyr, Falcon, Anglia, Cortina, ad infinitum), the last time the marque won in Sweden was in 1978, with Bjorn Waldegard at the wheel of the Escort RS1800, when the WRC was just five years old. Gronholm’s win, and the exclusion of the third of the big three competitors in WRC, Subaru’s Petter Solberg, the bookies have now firmed Gronholm to 2.25 (5/4) clear second favourite for the drivers championship, though current world champion Sebastien Loeb remains odds-on favourite for the title at 1.70 (approx. 6/4 on). Solberg has now drifted to 8.00 (7/1) and Subaru’s Australian prodigy Chris Atkinson is fourth favourite at a staggering 80/1. Clearly the championship is a three-horse-race after just two events of the 16 event series.

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