The stage times were strong: 4.8 seconds faster than Ford team-mate Mikko Hirvonen on the first pass and 3.0s clear on the second.
But in 2007 Marcus Grönholm knew he would never drive Ouninpohja again in the World Rally Championship.
Victory at Rally Finland – a seventh in eight years – matched Hannu Mikkola’s record on the event, and perhaps more importantly earned him a 13-point advantage over Sébastien Loeb in the championship.
However Grönholm had been weighing up his future over the WRC’s two-month summer break prior to Rally Finland in early August, and although his ultimate decision to call it quits was communicated in September, it was that Saturday in Ouninpohja that swung it.
In his latest column, exclusively available to Club DirtFish members, Grönholm explains why he made that decision – and why the story often surrounding it isn’t quite accurate.
“It was Rally Finland in 2007 when I decided to retire, on Ouninpohja, actually,” the two-time world champion wrote.
“I know some people think that the stage scared me because I looked white like some ghost by the end, but that’s not 100% true. I looked like that because I was completely exhausted!
“You see, the 2006 and 2007 seasons battling for the championship with [Sébastien] Loeb really took it out of me, because we were not fighting for massive margins. With him, you’re looking for half a second here, a tenth of a second there, and you really have to dig deep.
“With all the travelling involved with the WRC and being away from home and my family, that level of intensity really starts to get to you, so I decided I would retire when I knew I could still win.
“It just happened to be on Ouninpohja that I made that decision.
“Sure, I probably had four, five, even six years left in me because I was only 39, but I wanted to end my career without having that question of ‘can I still do this?’ in my head. I didn’t know the answer, so again, it was the perfect time to stop. No doubts.”
Grönholm knew his race was run after the 2007 season
Throughout the column, Grönholm explores his entire Rally Finland story – recalling the early years, the performance that earned him several offers from factory teams, and how he was able to win his home event so many times.
“From 2000 to mid-2003, when it reached the end of its evolution, the 206, or the ‘silver bullet’ as we called it, did whatever I wanted it to on gravel,” Grönholm said.
“It was a dream to drive, and I had so much confidence to push behind the wheel – the Peugeot guys did a great job to make that car perfect for me.
“Going into Finland 2000, I’d already taken my first WRC win in Sweden, and then I took my second of the season in New Zealand, another favorite rally of mine, but that’s another story for another day.
“By then, I knew deep down that if the car stayed together, I could always win at home. I can’t describe how or why, but that’s just the feeling I got during that winning run.
“Thinking about it now, I guess it was just one of those moments in time when everything in life comes together, and those years were my time.”
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