The opening round of the WRC saw one of its past champions come back to contest one of his favorite rallies. Things did not go Marcus Gronholm’s way however. The two time champion had electrical problems as well as a puncture that resulted in his 21st place finish. However, team owner Mattias Therman says he would be happy to have Marcus in the car again this year.
Marcus has since retired from the WRC with two world championships and participated in a number of rallycross events. Last year the Finn participated in Rally Portugal and had a great run until a spin removed him from contention. This year the one off was Sweden in which Marcus admitted that he would need more testing before jumping back into the Ford Focus. So will we see Marcus back this year in a car? According to Therman, he would be more than happy to help Gronholm if he chose to race again.
According to Mattias, him and Marcus have yet to speak about a future round or even multiple rounds in the WRC. Sponsorship could be the issue that would prevent the return however, and Therman has even indicated that he would help Marcus find the money necessary for future rounds.
I am not sure if we will see Marcus again or not, but it would be a huge boost to the championship and would do no wrong to the WRC. The real question is whether the fire still burns to run multiple events across the championship? Marcus should be able to pull in money for sponsors no problem, but does he have the passion to get into a car and drive in anger if he is unable to win? Questions that would weigh heavy on any driver as he contemplates a full or even partial return. I would like to see Marcus Gronholm in a rally car for sure as would a lot of people. We will have to wait and see exactly what Marcus chooses as the months and days unfold.