Marcus Gronholm Quotations

I am relaxed because I am a little bit faster than Sebastien.

I don't try to use them that much but when you enter a corner too fast they can be a help. The problem is that a driver can't rely on them. If temperatures aren't cold enough to freeze the snow properly, instead of bouncing off the banks, cars can be dragged into the snow or plough through them and off the road.

I enjoyed the first stage a lot, I felt very comfortable driving. I'm very happy.

I went off at the first junction and almost got stuck. I put it in first gear and full throttle and managed to not get stuck.

My speed was not fantastic, I'm not happy with that, but I'm happy with the win. I was afraid on the slicks on the snow and ice, it's not comfortable. Anything is possible on this rally.

I was not thinking a podium was possible. I calculated I could maybe get fourth. To take six points after the problems is good.

We are expecting a lot and so is the team. First tests in December in Sweden and France showed us that these expectations are well reasoned. All new Focus is not only fast but incredibly reliable after such a short development.

This was the first gravel rally for me with the new Focus. We tried a number of small things. The car seems to be good, and I am happy with that, but driver mistakes are not good!

Because I made a mistake in Mexico and scored only one point, I really need to win one of the next two rallies to maintain a strong championship position.

The win is fantastic. When Loeb went off I just controlled my pace, but with him in contention it would have been very difficult.

The most important thing is that the car has taken a step forward.

A change always gives you an extra injection of energy and this is our first move after working seven years for Peugeot. It was a bit sad to leave the team where we have had everything in our career. We have a load of nostalgic memories from the past years. Now we face the pleasant challenge of learning the way our new team is working and to get to know all the people involved.

It was a good fight until yesterday night, Loeb was very good here. We have won this rally many times and I'm happy for that. Today we had to be cautious not to hit any stones or holes which could do damage to the car, it was not fun to drive the last stages.

I've driven the Focus RS WRC on snow in Sweden and twice on asphalt in France and I'm hugely impressed. I quickly developed a good feeling with the car and have settled into a good working relationship with the team. I'm not making any predictions about Monte Carlo. The important thing on the first round is for me to gain experience of the car in competitive surroundings. But my initial feeling is that the Focus RS WRC can win rallies in 2006.

I want to show that this car is ready to win.

I didn't expect to win. It's a new car, it's a fantastic result. I thought I could win before the last stage, not earlier. Everything is possible. We had our problems this morning. I was expecting Sebastien will be closer but I knew it would be a good fight here, I was sure about that. Petter had so many troubles in this rally, he couldn't show his speed. We have to wait for Mexico to see what he can do.

I couldn't do much more. I knew on Friday when Sebastien had already gone 19 seconds clear that I'd find it hard to pull him back.

The car was fine and the tires were good. It's still a long way to go but it looks good now.

The car seems to be good and I am happy with that but the driver's mistakes are not good.

The conditions are awful, I hate them. I have been driving like my grandmother. Still, it's my first time out with Ford and I'm leading the Monte Carlo rally ... that's not so bad.