Gronholm WRC Victory in Doubt
Marcus Gronholm’s victory in last weekend’s Rally of Cyprus will not be officially ratified until after a meeting next Wednesday between his Peugeot team and the sport’s governing body to clarify a technical issue, the FIA confirmed on Wednesday. Cyprus Rally Organisers have summonsed Peugeot chiefs to a meeting in Paris on May 26 to answer questions on a technical control carried out after the race, a FIA spokesman told AFP.
The control found a difference in the water pumps used in Gronholm’s Peugeot 307 and the Citroen Xsara driven by his leading rival Sebastien Loeb, despite both cars having similar engines. Peugeot’s pump paddle was made of plastic while that of Citroen was in aluminium.
“The stewards recognise our good faith but they put off their decision until next week for a complementary inquiry on the connection in a series of water pumps,” said Peugeot spokesman Jean-Claude Lefebvre.
The French team will be represented at the meeting by technical director Michel Nandan and team manager Nick Gullino.
Finland’s Gronholm became the new leader of the world driver’s championship after winning the fifth race of the season in Cyprus on Sunday, when he finished almost one minute clear of second-placed Loeb.
It was former champion Gronholm’s 16th career win but the first time the new Peugeot 307 had registered success on the WRC circuit.
Gronholm said: “Everything was perfect with the car. It was important for me and for the team to take this result with the new car.” Third going into the Cyprus rally, Gronholm now heads the driver’s championship on 34 points with Loeb a point adrift.
