Marcus Gronholm rolled his MSE Ford Fiesta ST during qualifying in the latest ERC round in Poland

Posted by Scott Coursey 13 September, 2008

nyhet_x1309200814928.jpg picture by C4B

MSE/Ford Team RS Europe’s drivers are placed third and tenth after the first qualifying heat in this weekend’s Polish round of the European Rallycross Championship, being run at Slomczyn, 50km south east of Warsaw.

Team leader Andreas Eriksson set the third fastest time, but the buzz of excitement at the track surrounded Marcus Grönholm’s remarkable dash to 10th place – after he had rolled his Fiesta ST in the second lap of the race.

Gronholm owns up to his mistake:

It was me, I made a small mistake and hit the kerb as I went into the Joker Lap. The car rolled onto the barrier but landed on its wheels. The engine was still running so I put it in gear and went again. I lost a bit of time but it could have been worse.”

While the MSE engineers made their first assessment of the damage to Grönholm’s car, Eriksson was on the track battling hard with Frenchman Olivier Anne and Norwegian Sverre Isachsen. “I was very close to Anne in the third corner but he braked a little late and then Isachsen hit both of us. I went into the Joker Lap immediately after that and had good lap times. I thought it could be second fastest but I missed that by 0.24s,” said Eriksson who ended the heat third fastest and is very happy with the performance of the two Ford Fiesta STs in Poland. “The cars are fast here and I can’t believe what Marcus did, tenth fastest even after a roll! There’s very little damage on his car and we are in pretty good shape for tomorrow.”

The Polish event, the penultimate round of this year’s 11-race European Rallycross Championship, continues tomorrow when the organiser, which has reported record ticket sales is expecting more than 20,000 spectators to visit Slomczyn.

Video of the Marcus Gronholm crash in Poland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDsbd-i78o4

FIRST QUALIFYING HEAT:

1. Sverre Isachsen (N) Ford Focus 3.11,215
2. Michael Jernberg (S) Skoda Fabia +1,187
3. Andreas Eriksson (S) Ford Fiesta ST +1,427
4. Olivier Anne (F) Citroen C4 +2,239
5. Stig-Olov Walfridson (S) Renault Clio III +3,168
6. Kenneth Hansen (S) Citroen C4 +3,446
7. Ole Kristian Nøttveit (N) Ford Focus +5,379
8. Frode Holte (N) Volvo S40 +6,546
9. Guttorm Lindefjell (N) Skoda Fabia +7,193
10. Marcus Gronholm (FIN) Ford Fiesta ST +7,794