Rain in Spain makes life hard for Castrol-Ford

Torrential rain before the start threw Marcus Grцnholm and Mikko Hirvonen"s plans into disarray and robbed them of the chance to challenge for victory in Spain. Nevertheless the Castrol-Ford duo maintained the team"s title hopes with solid drives in difficult conditions.

Torrential rain forced the cancellation of the Thursday night opening ceremony and played its part in Gronholm"s performance over the opening stages once the rally began on Friday. Expecting the roads to still be wet he erred on the side of caution with his tyre choice and paid a heavy penalty. "The compound was correct but I asked for too many cuts," he admitted. He won the opening stage but thereafter found the roads drying quickly, ending the leg almost a minute off the lead - just as the rain fell again!