For the third season in succession, Niclas Grönholm finished third in the FIA World Rallycross Championship Drivers’ standings in 2023, continuing to lead the CE Dealer Team by Volvo Construction Equipment charge at the international pinnacle of the dual-surface discipline.
Despite being just 27, Grönholm has been a full-timer in World RX since the beginning of 2016 – and a front-runner and race-winner for much of that period. There were no victories this year, but there were plenty of typically gritty displays as the laconic Finn – who prefers to do his talking on the track – routinely extracted every last ounce of performance out of the equipment at his disposal.
Grönholm advanced to the final on all-bar-one occasion – a statistic beaten only by six-time world champion Johan Kristoffersson – and there were trips to the podium in Portugal, Norway and Hong Kong.
Indeed, the Kauniainen native could and arguably should have prevailed on at least one of the two days in the season finale, and while technical issues thwarted his chances, he nonetheless unquestionably made his mark.
2023
Stats
World
RX Starts:
7
Wins: 0
Podiums: 3
Finals
Reached:
6
Best
Result: 2nd
Points: 94
Championship
Position:
3rd
Finland
Italy
Hungary