Marcus Grönholm recovers to finish third in Catalonia Rally

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After an eventful weekend, Finland's Marcus Grönholm finally finished third in the Catalonia Rally, which ended on Sunday. During the second special stage of the final day the Finn overtook the Peugeot driver Alexander Bengue to snatch a podium place.
      The winner of the season's fourth World Championship race was the Frenchman Sébastien Loeb. The Citroën driver also leads the championship standings by nine points, ahead of Grönholm. Both men have won two races this season, but Loeb also has a pair of 2nd-place finishes.
      Loeb took victory in Catalonia by a 48.2-second margin from his Citroën team-mate, Spaniard Daniel Sordo. The win was Loeb's second consecutive triumph in Catalonia.
     
In the final standings, Grönholm - who drives a Ford - trailed one minute and 45.8 seconds behind Loeb. Grönholm, who was originally in the lead, dropped down to the tenth place on Friday due to technical problems with his turbocharger.
      The other Ford driver, Finnish Mikko Hirvonen, finished ninth in the Catalonia Rally. His turbo also blew up on Friday.
      The World Championship Rally circus continues in Corsica on April 7th.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Victory in Swedish Rally crowns Grönholm´´s birthday (6.2.2006)

Links:
  World Rally Championship

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