Grönholm finished second in the Tuuri rally, trailing the winner Roope Korhonen by over 40 seconds. This podium position was Grönholm’s first in the SM-series.
“This might have been the fastest rally for me this year. There’s still room for improvement to be completely satisfied,” Grönholm told RallyJournal.com.
According to Grönholm, everything fell into place at the Tuuri rally. He had a new Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 under him, and the weather conditions were favorable.
“The car probably helped to some extent. The weather was quite clear. Sure, there was a lot of gravel in some places, but it only affects the tires. There was no mud or anything. The grip was consistent throughout the route, which made it easier,” Grönholm pondered.
Tuuri rally also saw the legendary duo of Grönholm and Rautiainen team up again, though this time master co-driver Timo Rautiainen was reading pace notes for the younger Grönholm. Rautiainen is remembered from his active career alongside Niclas’s father, two-time world champion Marcus Grönholm.
“He didn’t bring anything new. He mostly complained that there was too much material in the pace notes. Apparently, he doesn’t have time to read it. He didn’t really comment much. If I made a small mistake somewhere, then he would remark, ‘Calm down a bit,'” Grönholm chuckled.
“It went well. We’ve known each other for a long time. It’s all good. Timo did his job, nothing extraordinary.”
Rautiainen was Grönholm’s third co-driver this season, for as many rallies.
“If I plan to race more, it would be good to find someone who can sit beside me. The unfortunate truth is that pace note training and development are almost nonexistent, or practically not happening at all. Improving this would certainly enhance our performance significantly, allowing for complete trust in the pace notes without so much fluctuation,” Grönholm thought.
“I still unnecessarily lift off in fast sections. Then, there’s too much text in the pace notes, which isn’t actually useful. Developing this and doing more training could make a difference.”
