Regardless of being out of motion for 18 months, he was as much as second (behind outdated team-mate Hirvonen) in direction of the tip of Friday – and maybe ought to have led had he bought his ways proper.
“When you find yourself a couple of years away, it’s not simple to come back again,” Grönholm says. “However I felt fairly OK after the take a look at, and in addition the primary instances have been actually aggressive. And I feel we might have been within the lead the primary day, however we selected to play ways and, you understand, decelerate earlier than the tip of the stage.
“However we slowed down an excessive amount of. We slowed down an excessive amount of with Timo. We couldn’t do not forget that after the yellow board there have been lengthy, many corners earlier than it was completed, so we misplaced lots of time. I do not forget that one very nicely, yeah.”
The error earned Hirvonen a 15s in a single day lead, with Grönholm dropping behind the 2 works Citroëns to fourth – 23.9s off first having began Friday’s ultimate stage simply 5.5s again.
However irrespective of, one other day lay forward and Grönholm was genuinely within the combine. That should’ve happy him given all the expectation and unfavourable questioning he’d have confronted had he been off the tempo.
“Yeah, I used to be fairly pleased to see that,” he admits. “We have been again there, the place we left it, in order that was good. And with a brand new automotive, in fact fully new automotive for me [and] a brand new crew, so it was good.
“It could have been incredible to be main,” provides Grönholm, “however we performed ways to not be main, to have a very good street place. I feel we had a very good street place. I used to be perhaps 4 seconds behind Loeb.
