Former two-time world rally champion, Marcus Gronholm, reunited with his 2000 and 2002 championship winning co-driver, Timo Rautiainen, at the all-new event in northern Italy, celebrating Group A and WRC car era machinery. The rally, held in the town of Varzi, is the brainchild of former Hyundai Motorsport boss Andrea Adamo.
The Accident
During the opening stage of the rally, Gronholm went off the road at the flying finish on Friday night. Gronholm, who was driving a 2008 WRC specification Subaru Impreza, was competing in his first rally outing since Rally Sweden in 2019 when he and Rautiainen campaigned a Toyota Yaris WRC car. Despite the accident, Gronholm and his co-driver are reportedly okay. Nonetheless, the car sustained significant damage, forcing Gronholm to retire from the rally.
The Results
Before the accident, Gronholm and Rautiainen clocked what ultimately proved to be the stage-winning time, 8.1 seconds faster than Frenchman Patrick Magnou, driving a Peugeot 306 Maxi. Former WRC driver Andreas Mikkelsen was third fastest, 14.0 seconds adrift, driving an S2000 specification Skoda Fabia. Ex-factory Hyundai and Mitsubishi WRC driver Alister McRae ended the stage in fifth overall (+23.1s) driving a version of the iconic Subaru Impreza his late older brother Colin drove to win the 1995 world title.
The Rally Continues
Despite the setback, the rally continues with six more stages on Saturday. Gronholm’s return to competitive rallying was highly anticipated, and his accident has not dampened the excitement surrounding the event. Fans of the two-time world rally champion will be eagerly waiting for news of his next appearance in the sport.
Former two-time world rally champion, Marcus Gronholm, reunited with his 2000 and 2002 championship winning co-driver Timo Rautiainen to make a return to competitive rallying at the all-new event in northern Italy, celebrating Group A and WRC car era machinery. However, during the opening stage of the rally, Gronholm went off the road at the flying finish on Friday night. Despite the accident, Gronholm and his co-driver are reportedly okay. Nonetheless, the car sustained significant damage, forcing Gronholm to retire from the rally. Before the accident, Gronholm and Rautiainen clocked what ultimately proved to be the stage-winning time, 8.1 seconds faster than Frenchman Patrick Magnou, driving a Peugeot 306 Maxi. The rally continues with six more stages on Saturday.
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