Marcus Gronholm to run Global Rallycross at Irwindale

[Francisco]

Marcus Gronholm to run Global Rallycross at Irwindale

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Former WRC star Marcus Gronholm is confirmed to compete in the Global Rallycross Championship opener, “The Revolution” at the TOYOTA Irwindale Speedway, this March 25-26. Gronholm's name appeared on the official entry list (http://rally-america.com/events/2011/IRWIN/entries/) on Satruday March 12 as of 11:45am ET. 'Magic' Marcus will be running a All-Wheel drive 2011 Ford Fiesta on his American rallycross debut. We will keep you posted on details as they become available.

You heard it on WorldRallySport.com first!

More info on Global Rallycross and Ticket Sales here: CLICK (http://bit.ly/gPeoDi)

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[Francisco]

Rally legend Marcus Grönholm to compete in 
Global RallyCross Championship on March 25-26 in Irwindale, CA

WorldRallySport.com (http://www.worldrallysport.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6590#post6590) was the very first to break this story, posting news of Gronholm's entry (http://www.worldrallysport.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6590#post6590) on Saturday morning. Here is Monday's official release from Global Rallycross Management confirming the 'Bosse' at Irwindale:

Two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm will travel to the United States to compete in the first round of the Global RallyCross Championship: The Revolution, taking place March 25-26 at Irwindale Speedway on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

Grönholm, who will pilot a 600-hp all-wheel drive Best Buy Ford Fiesta in the contest, joins a list of top-ranked international motorsport and action sport stars racing in the Global RallyCross Championship.

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Also planning to compete are three-time X Games Rally gold medalist Tanner Foust in his Ford Fiesta, Rhys Millen and five-time British rally champion Marcus Dodd in Hyundai Veloster rallycross cars, and Subaru Rally Team USA’s Dave Mirra in a Subaru WRX STI.

“Rallycross is good fun, with a lot of cars running at the same time,” said Grönholm. “It’s quite different from rally but it’s excellent to come to the USA and it feels nice to be involved again with the team.”

In addition to two World Rally Championship titles (2000, 2002), the legendary Finnish driver also won the 2002 Race of Champions and earned the Nations’ Cup at the contest in 2006. He also took on the 2009 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb in a similarly prepared Ford Fiesta and will be reunited with the Olsbergs MSE team for this event.

“We are thrilled that Best Buy, the world’s largest electronics retailer, is working with Marcus Grönholm who has conquered the rally world twice,” said Mark Williams, president of Best Buy Financial Services.

Drivers in the Global RallyCross Championship are vying for a chance to win the first-ever series title – and a chance to earn an invitation to X Games 17 Rally competitions held in downtown Los Angeles this July. Two-wheel drive entries also have a shot at a $5,000 prize purse to benefit grassroots competitors at the contest.

The series will benefit from a multi-year programming relationship with ESPN, with Global RallyCross Championship broadcasts slated to follow NASCAR Nationwide and NHRA shows on ESPN and ESPN2 with live event streaming on ESPN3.

“We are involved in rallycross in the UK and this is a great opportunity for Best Buy to be involved in the new Global RallyCross series,” said Williams. “Our customers can play the video games featuring the cars and watch the races on their home theater systems – and all purchased from Best Buy!”

Racing this month will take place on an inventive dirt and tarmac track configuration on the speedway oval. The highlight of the course is a huge gap jump that will see competition cars fly 70-feet through the air. This is the first time a gap jump has ever been included in rallycross competition outside the X Games environment.

“We’re thrilled that Marcus Grönholm will join us for the first round of Global RallyCross Championship,” said series co-founder Chip Pankow. “We are building a truly international series featuring top talent from around the world.”

In addition to the fierce door-to-door rallycross competition at Irwindale, drivers will also be available for autograph sessions and a vendor midway will offer further entertainment for fans. Tickets are just $25 for two days of racing, are available at www.global-rallycross.com. Fans can also find the series on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GlobalRallyCross) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/GlobalRallyX) to sign up for a chance to win tickets and other prizes.

Competitors will next travel to a rural-industrial complex outside of Seattle, WA, for Round 2: Twin Peaks (April 15-16), and meet again in Colorado at the Pikes Peak International Raceway for Round 3: Last Chance (June 17-18). Invitations for X Games Rally events will be announced soon after the conclusion of the third and final round of the 2011 series.

The RallyCar organization will sanction the Global RallyCross Championship events. Competitors in the Global RallyCross Championship may also elect to score points in U.S. Rallycross Championship events.

Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GlobalRallyCross and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GlobalRallyX

[Weasel 555]

saweet , thats awesome news , wish i could b there !

[Francisco]

Q&A with Marcus Gronholm on Rallycross in the USA

Two-time WRC champion Marcus Gronholm has agreed to drive the Best Buy Ford Fiesta for Olsbergs MSE in the opening round of the Global RallyCross championship at Irwindale Speedway March 26-27. Gronholm who drove two season’s for Ford in the WRC (2006-07) officially retired following the 2007 season.

http://www.bybillwood.com/online/images/stories/mgronholm%20ppeak.jpg

Since then he has kept busy with one off events like Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2009 and by running a handful of European RallyCross events. Gronholm chatted with a group of journalists shortly after the announcement and This Week in Ford Racing was there to transcribe his thoughts on the GRC debut.

DO YOU SEE YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THIS ACTIVITY AS SOMETHING TO HELP SELL THE SPORT TO THE UNITED STATES OR IS THIS SOMETHING YOU JUST WANT TO DO AS A COMPETITOR?

MG: “I think both. Of course I want to drive, but also I want to help start something new and make it big, I hope. Mostly I want to drive again.”

IF YOU DRIVE AGAIN WOULD THAT BE JUST IN RALLYCROSS OR WOULD YOU CONSIDER WRC WHERE YOU ALREADY HAVE TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS?

MG: “No for the WRC which I already made a decision a few years ago that I had to stop. I still like to drive something so RallyCross is really nice and also the chance to come over to the USA is new for me so it is interesting.”

CAN RALLYCROSS BE A DESTINATION SPORT INTERNATIONALLY OR IS IT JUST SOMETHING PEOPLE WILL DO AS AN ASIDE TO SOMETHING ELSE THEY HAVE IN THEIR CAREER?

MG: “I think it [RallyCross] is quite a nice sport. For the spectators it is good because it is easy to attend and easy to see for TV it is good. For drivers, I have done a few races here in the Europe Championship, and it is quite interesting. It is quite hectic and quick. You have to have quick reactions for a good start and there are a lot of cars at the same time and a lot of pushing and fighting.”

SOME OF THE BEST RALLYCROSS DRIVERS ARE OLDER. DOES RALLYCROSS REQUIRE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE AT THE SPORT OR SOMETHING ELSE TO BE REALLY GOOD?

MG: “I don’t know why the best drivers seem to be older. Maybe it is because they can keep calm and not get crazy like the younger drivers when they are twenty. I know I had a lot of problem when I was 20 to 25 but then it got a lot better as I got more experience and older. They are old stories, but there were times when you had a good position in a rally, a second or third, yet I wanted to win and you end up in a crazy position and miss out because of mistakes.”

HOW DO YOU FIND THE COMPAIRISON BETWEEN THE STYLE OF DRIVING IN WRC AND RALLYCROSS? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO DIFFERENTLY IN YOUR DRIVE AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS TRANSLATABLE?

MG: “In the first races I did in RallyCross it was difficult for me because you have to follow others and you can get stuck behind someone so start is very important. If you miss the start then you are behind everybody. That is different. In rally you are alone on the stage and you can catch up and a little bit of time here and there. In RallyCross you don’t have time. You have to be good from the start and not make mistakes. The cars are a bit different. Here in RallyCross the cars have more power, much more, but they aren’t so easy to drive. The WRC car is much easier to drive.”

YOU MENTIONED A FEW MINUTES AGO THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING SOMETHING NEW AND HELPING BUILD SOMETHING. DOES THAT MEAN WE WILL SEE YOU AT A FEW OF THESE GLOBAL RALLYCROSS EVENTS OR IS THIS A ONE OFF?

MG: “It depends a little bit of how much I enjoy here in the first one. Can we find the budget for the rest of the rest for me to drive? I don’t know for the moment. Everything came very quickly together for this one so I am not that well prepared because I haven’t seen the Fiesta for a couple of years. It is a little bit of a funny situation, but I think it will be ok if we get a small test before.”

WHEN DO YOU ANTICIPATE THIS TEST AND HOW MUCH TIME WILL YOU HAVE WITH THE CAR?

MG: “For the moment I don’t know when I am even flying to the US, but it will be a few days before the event.”

HOW DOES IT FEEL COMING TO NORTH AMERICA WITH FAN REACTION A BIT DIFERENT THAN WHAT YOU RE USED TO IN EUROPE? DOES NOT HAVING AS MUCH ATTENTION MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU TO FOCUS ON THE DRIVING?

MG: “I think it will be fine. I hope there will be a lot of spectators and people for the first one [GRC event]. I will focus on driving and I hope that we get everything correct in the test before so I can start with a good result.”

YOU DROVE AN OLSBERGS MSE FORD FIESTA AT PIKES PEAK IN 2009. SINCE PIKES PEAK THE FIESTA HAS BEEN HERE IN THE US AND HAS WON THE 2009 X GAMES WITH KENNY BRACK AND SWEPT DOUBLE GOLD AT X GAMES LAST YEAR WITH TANNER FOUST. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE FIESTA FROM PIKES PEAK?

MG: “At Pikes Peak we had a lot of horsepower and the Fiesta was really nice car to drive, but we had a little problem with the turbo as we climbed up Pikes Peak. Now it is completely different [at sea level] and I think it will be good.”

HAVE YOU EVER JUMPED A CAR OVER A 70 FOOT MAN MADE JUMP BEFORE?

MG: “I have never jumped over an open gap. I think the jump in Global RallyCross is an open gap. So I am little bit nervous, but I hope everything will go ok. I don’t know what will happen when we are in the traffic trying to take the jump. Let’s see how it will be.”


Read the rest of the interview on ByBillWood.com - CLICK HERE (http://www.bybillwood.com/online/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1725:1on1-with-marcus-gronholm&catid=46:racing&Itemid=105)

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