World RX #GOAT Top Ten Countdown: Niclas Grönholm (6th)

6th: Niclas Grönholm

World RX Titles: 0
World RX Wins: 6
World RX Podiums: 10
Best Championship Finish: 3rd (2021)

The son of two-time FIA World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm, Niclas Grönholm made his FIA World Rallycross Championship debut at Höljes in 2015 – the same year that he clinched the Finnish Championship’s headlining Supercar class crown – going on to finish inside the top half of the high-calibre, 35-strong field on his maiden appearance.

That toe-in-the-water outing would be the prelude to a full-season assault in 2016 with Olsbergs MSE, scoring points on eight consecutive occasions before switching to the family-run GRX outfit for 2017, when Grönholm reached the final for the first time with fifth position in Germany.

2018 marked a significant step forward for the Finn, with four visits to the final behind the wheel of the new Hyundai i20 yielding seventh place in the overall classification – comfortably the top independent entrant.

That paved the way for a full-on title tilt in 2019, when a brace of victories and two further podium finishes left Grönholm just 25 points shy of the coveted crown, despite missing two rounds due to appendicitis. His points-per-event tally was unrivalled, while a popular home soil success at Kouvola in 2020 cemented fourth spot in the standings for the second straight season.

The third-generation driver then overcame a slow start last year – missing out on the final in each of the opening two rounds – to fight back to a career-best third in the title table. Triumphs in Latvia, Portugal and Germany saw him tie with eventual champion Johan Kristoffersson for most race wins over the course of the nine-round campaign.