Grönholm rues too many ‘ups-and-downs’ in 2024

Grönholm headed to Istanbul still in the mix to secure a fourth consecutive top three championship finish at the international pinnacle of the dual-surface discipline. Second place on the opening day behind Ole Christian Veiby kept the Finn in the hunt – highlighted by a superb display in heat one that saw him sweep around the outside of all of his rivals from fifth on the grid and thereafter fend off Johan Kristoffersson to the chequered flag.

He was firmly in the thick of the action again in heat two, and went on to exploit an early joker strategy in the final to scoop the runner-up spoils – making him the day’s highest scorer. When the rain arrived just under 24 hours later, however, that promising pace evaporated, and in Sunday’s semi-final, the writing was on the wall.

Another lightning launch vaulted Grönholm into the lead from the second row at the start, but as the weather worsened, he found himself fighting a losing battle, and it was only a late retirement for World RX newcomer Steven Bossard that elevated him into the final. A fifth place-finish in the last race of the campaign ultimately mirrored the 28-year-old Kauniainen native’s championship position.

“We lacked speed in the wet,” he acknowledged. “In the dry, we were able to compensate a bit more, but the rain made the situation worse. The combustion cars were simply more competitive in those conditions, and that obliged me to take risks, which in turn resulted in some mistakes.

“Overall, it’s been a tough year and a challenging last weekend. We struggled for consistency, which was naturally disappointing. At times, we proved we had the potential to win, but we never managed to put together a completely strong weekend from start-to-finish and there were times when our problems stacked up, which ended up derailing the momentum we had back at the beginning of the season.

“There have been a lot of ups-and-downs, and that’s just not enough if you want to contend for the title. The bottom line is that we didn’t have the pace we needed to compete for the top three spots in the championship.

“I was happy to finish on the podium on the Saturday in Türkiye to give something back to the team and all of our partners who have worked so hard, and while third [in the standings] would obviously have been better than fifth, at the end of the day, it doesn’t make a huge difference. Fifth place was probably a fair reflection.”