Marcus Gronholm was unable to take the fight to
Citroen and
Sebastien Loeb on Friday during the opening leg of the Rally Catalunya, the twelfth round in the 2007
FIA World Rally Championship.
Gronholm eventually finished day 1 in third place overall, 50.6 seconds off Loeb - and 40 seconds or so off
Daniel Sordo, who is on course for the runners-up spot in the second C4 WRC.
Marcus had begun the day promisingly and he set the pace in SS1, before slipping back in SS2. He then lost further ground in the middle loop after opting for too many cuts in his tyres.
"This morning I had the right tyres. On the middle loop I expected the roads to be mainly dry but wet in the shade, and there were a lot of trees alongside the roads. But they were totally dry and I had too many cuts in the tyres which were moving all the time, he recounted.
I knew after just a few hundred metres of the first stage in the group that it was the wrong choice.
Worst was to come however on the final two stages and after gambling on conditions staying dry, he lost out in SS6, the last test of the day, when the heavens opened prior to the start of the 26.48 kilometre test.
In the final stage it felt like I could go off on every corner so I drove cautiously. I need to think about the points to be gained from third place rather than risk losing everything by chasing Loeb in the rain on the wrong tyres, he continued.
I had no feeling with the car in the wet and I was scared to push. The car was great in the dry on the previous stage but the rain came just 15 minutes too early. I hate this inconsistent weather and I hope tomorrow is dry so that I can keep the pressure on in case Seb makes a mistake."
BP-Ford team director Malcolm Wilson meanwhile defended their tyre choice for the final loop, even if he did concede it was a risky strategy.
