Ford Racing's Marcus Grönholm to Retire After 2007

Current World Rally Championship (WRC) point leader Marcus Grönholm along with his long time co-driver Timo Rautiainen in the BP-Ford World Rally Team announced that they will retire in WRC racing after the 2007 season.

Grönholm, aged 39 said that his plan to retire in WRC is a very tough decision to make, and wanted to retire while he is on top of this racing series. Gronholm said: "This has been an incredibly hard decision for me to make. Rallying has been my life for so many years and when the Monte Carlo Rally comes round in January to start next year's championship, it will feel strange not to be there. But the time is right for me to finish now. I wanted to stop while I still had the speed to win rallies. I didn't want to leave the decision too late so that I wasn't capable of winning any longer."

Gronholm added: "This will allow me to spend more time with my wife and three children. They have fully supported me all the way through my career and I would like to thank them for that. I could not have achieved what I have without their encouragement. Now this decision is made, I want to concentrate on the remaining five rounds of the season. We lead both the drivers' and manufacturers' championships and I would like nothing more than to end my career with another title."

Although Gronholm started his WRC career aboard a Peugeot rally car, Marcus Gronholm will finish his career on a Ford Focus RS WRC. In fact, Gronholm contributed to the success of BP-Ford World Rally Team during his inception to the team last year.

John Fleming, Ford of Europe President and CEO commented: "Marcus has done a superb job for the team and it is no coincidence that his arrival in 2006, coupled with the introduction of the new Focus RS World Rally Car, signalled the start of one of our most successful periods in the WRC. We greatly appreciate his contribution during the last two seasons and will miss him and the inspiration he brings to the team."

Anyway, check out below for Marcus Gronholm's wins in his WRC career so far. The list shows win number, WRC event, year, co-driver, and the rally car.

1 49th International Swedish Rally 2000 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
2 30th Rally New Zealand 2000 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
3 50th Neste Rally Finland 2000 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
4 13th Telstra Rally Australia 2000 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
5 51st Neste Rally Finland 2001 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
6 14th Telstra Rally Australia 2001 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
7 57th Network Q Rally of Great Britain 2001 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
8 51st Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2002 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
9 30th Cyprus Rally 2002 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
10 52nd Neste Rally Finland 2002 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
11 32nd Propecia Rally New Zealand 2002 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
12 15th Telstra Rally Australia 2002 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
13 52nd Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2003 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
14 33rd Propecia Rally New Zealand 2003 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
15 23º Rally Argentina 2003 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 206 WRC
16 54th Neste Rally Finland 2004 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
17 55th Neste Rally Finland 2005 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
18 2nd Rally Japan 2005 Timo Rautiainen Peugeot 307 WRC
19 74ème Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo 2006 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
20 55th Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2006 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
21 53rd Acropolis Rally 2006 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
22 56th Neste Oil Rally Finland 2006 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
23 7th Rally of Turkey 2006 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
24 36th Propecia Rally New Zealand 2006 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
25 62nd Wales Rally GB 2006 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
26 56th Uddeholm Swedish Rally 2007 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
27 4º Supermag Rally Italia Sardinia 2007 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
28 54th BP Ultimate Acropolis Rally of Greece 2007 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 06
29 57th Neste Oil Rally Finland 2007 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 07
30 37th Propecia Rally New Zealand 2007 Timo Rautiainen Ford Focus RS WRC 07