Grönholm has been, to some extent, World RX’s ‘nearly
man’ over the past five years. Denied a proper shot at glory by appendicitis in 2019, he finished fourth in the standings that season and the next before
improving to third in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride may be
the story of his career so far, but the CE Dealer Team star is determined to shake
off that tag and take the next step from consistent front-runner to bona
fide title contender. And this is how he plans to do it...
“My goal for a long time has been to win the
world championship,” Grönholm asserted in an exclusive interview with Czech
website Autonoviny.cz. “I’ve come fairly close, and been fairly close to
the level I want to perform at, but at the same time, I think mostly I’ve got
what I deserved.
“Often, it’s been a difficult start to the
season and then got better and better, but you have to perform from the first
round and score good points throughout the year. I need to be more consistent, and
that will hopefully help me in the title chase.
“Johan [Kristoffersson – six-time world
champion] obviously has a really good team around him with a lot of experience
and they are used to winning, which always helps a little bit, but as a driver,
he is able to perform at a good level all the time, which is what he does
better than the rest of us – and he rarely makes mistakes.
“Those are the two aspects that I would say set
him apart and make him difficult to beat, but like we have seen in the past, he
is not unbeatable and there are a lot of drivers on the grid who can win –
myself included. Ultimately, I’m not satisfied with finishing second or third –
I want to win the championship. That’s why we’re doing this.”
In his bid for glory, Grönholm has been busy
over the winter months analysing areas for improvement while keeping his hand
in with some rallying outings, which he describes as ‘always good fun and good
practice for rallycross’. With just over two-and-a-half months until World RX’s
new ‘Battle of Technologies’ races into life at Höljes in Sweden, he predicts a
competitive campaign ahead.
“I’m really looking forward to the season,”
enthused the Kauniainen native. “This will be my third year with CE Dealer Team,
and we are now going to have the (sustainably-fuelled) ICE cars together with
the electric ones, which I think is a good addition and a good way forward.
“We get some more cars and more competition,
and we’ll get to see what the electric cars are really made of. Of course, we
have been comparing them a little bit in the past with the European
Championship cars, but now we will all be on the same start grid. With a good
mix of circuits on the calendar, there will be some tracks where the electric
cars are better than the combustion cars and vice-versa. It’s going to be
exciting to see the differences. I can’t wait to get going!”
Finland
Italy
Hungary