Gronholm seals title for Ford with NZ victory

teamcar - Marcus Gronholm was convincing on the muddy roads of Rally New Zealand, taking the win in the penultimate round of the World Rally Championship -- and, more importantly, the manufacturers' title for Ford.

"This is fantastic," he said after his 24th career victory, and his fourth in New Zealand. "It's a great feeling to win the rally and secure the world title for Ford on the same day."
"While we are very happy, we are also a bit surprised," Gronholm explained.

"When I joined the team I expected a high performance level from the Focus RS WRC because it was a new car and to experience the fantastic level of reliability that we have enjoyed during the season was a big bonus. This wasn't such a hard rally as the Focus RS has been absolutely perfect."

With the 2007 drivers' champion, Sebastien Loeb, still recovering from a mountain-biking injury, there was no one who could touch Gronholm in Kiwi country. Gronholm finished 56 seconds ahead of his Ford Focus RS teammate, Mikko Hirvonen, and minutes in front of Loeb's Kronos Racing team, the OMV Peugeot team and the Subaru works team.