Marcus Grönholm hasn’t been a factory driver in the World Rally Championship for almost 20 years, but his relevance, and stock, has never diminished.
That’s why when JRD Motorsport announced it was creating an ARC2 car – a project based on a Chevrolet Sonic aiming to deliver America a cost-effective alternative to Rally2 – there was only one man it wanted involved as test and development driver.
Last week, the two-time world champion got his first test of the new car in what was also his first experience driving a rally car in a US forest.
His impressions were overwhelmingly positive.
“This was a completely new car out of the box,” Grönholm told DirtFish’s podcast, SPIN, The Rally Pod.
“OK, they [the team] did some shakedown test just driving around the workshop or something like that, but now we were first time out on the gravel road. So of course, you test the first feeling, how does it handle – but the car had a good balance.
“Then we worked on more engine mappings, shocks, not so much on the diff this time, but next test, yes. And yeah, then we try to get some more speed out of it and try to go fast.”
Grönholm enjoyed his time in America testing the new ARC2
But at this stage of the project, the “most important thing” is everything worked without problems.
“In the past I’ve had situations where we had so many problems, you couldn’t run the car. Nearly nothing during the day,” Grönholm added. “So that’s the most important thing in the beginning, that you can drive, drive, drive, and then you come up with improvements.”
Those improvements will begin at the next scheduled test in June, but Grönholm is sure the car has potential to fulfil its objective of rivalling Rally2.
“I think yes,” he said, “we had quite a good feeling. Yes, of course we need a little bit more speed, a little bit more power, but the main things are there. So quite happy.”
Grönholm wouldn’t reveal when the car would make its competition debut, but suggested it could be later in 2026. Could he be the one behind the wheel?
“I don’t say anything. Maybe, or maybe not,” he teased.
Listen to the full interview with Grönholm now on SPIN, The Rally Pod, where the Finn also talks about the current strength of the WRC, his thoughts on rallycross’ new direction and what he misses most about life without Timo Rautiainen beside him nearly every day.
