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Peugeot back to winning ways in Sweden

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Peugeot back to winning ways in Sweden

Finnish driver Marcus Grönholm has scored a dominant win in a Peugeot 206 on the second round of this year's FIA World Rally Championship, the Swedish Rally. The 2000 world champion was rarely troubled after he built up a substantial lead on Sunday, and he and navigator Timo Rautiainen were able to relax in the closing few stages to move to the top of the championship standings.

Their team-mates Harri Rovanperä and Risto Pietilainen also consolidated their second position, allowing Peugeot to celebrate a maximum score in the manufacturers' championship.

Carlos Sainz held off Richard Burns in third though, preventing the French manufacturer from scoring a whitewash of the podium placings. The Swedish roads continued to thaw in the unseasonably warm climate during the weekend, making conditions extremely difficult with patches of gravel poking through the softening ice.

Organisers were forced to cancel several stages due to poor road conditions, and many drivers were concerned about how effectively their tyres would retain their studs on the gravel sections.

Marcus Grönholm said: "I'm delighted. We had a plan for this event and that was to really attack yesterday, to try and build up a lead that would allow us to relax a little today. And it's worked absolutely to that plan. I have a really good feeling with the 206 on gravel now and clearly our performance is very strong, so I'm looking forward to the next events."

Colin McRae in a Ford Focus ran as high as third in the early stages of the event, but a hidden rock destroyed a rear wheel on Saturday, forcing down the order. He made a dash through the placings and honed in on a points finish, determined to overhaul brother Alister in a Mitsubishi for sixth. Instead, the 1995 world champion had a high-speed spin into a ditch and lost around 20 seconds - as a result, he finished just 0.3 seconds behind his younger brother.

FINAL RESULTS

1 Gronholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:07:28,6
2 Rovanpera Peugeot 206 WRC 3:08:53,1
3 Sainz Ford Focus WRC 3:09:54,4
4 Burns Peugeot 206 WRC 3:10:02,5
5 A.McRae Mitsubishi Lancer WRC 3:11:43,3
6 C.McRae Ford Focus WRC 3:11:43,6
7 Tuohino Ford Focus WRC 3:11:52,0
8 Kankkunen Hyundai Accent WRC 3:12:05,5
9 Lindholm Peugeot 206 WRC 3:12:25,2
10 Duval Ford Focus WRC 3:14:01,9


CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers:
Gronholm (FIN) 12
Makinen (FIN) 10
Sainz (E) 8
Loeb (F) 6
Rovanpera (FIN) 6
C.McRae (GB) 4
Burns (GB) 3
A.McRae (GB) 2
Solberg (N) 1

FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers:
Peugeot 20
Ford 16
Subaru 12
Mitsubishi 3
Hyundai 1
Skoda 0
 
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