| Grönholm, four points ahead in the Drivers' standings, was fastest on Thursday evening’s opening stage in the grounds of Stormont Castle in Belfast, but as the rally resumed on Friday morning it was Sébastien Loeb who mastered the mud-cacked narrow lanes of County Leitrim to take the lead on the second stage, ahead of his Citroen team mate Dani Sordo, with Grönholm in third.
Just three kilometres from the end of SS4, Grönholm’s Ford Focus RS WRC left the road and was unable to continue. "The accident happened near the finish on a wide, right corner," said Grönholm. "I braked for the bend but it was extremely slippery and the car skated off the road. I managed to turn it sideways before hitting a stone wall hard. It was a big, big impact because the car stopped immediately. Both wheels on my side of the car were pulled off. We were taken to hospital where we were both given a scan but that showed no problems. My neck is sore but otherwise I'm OK. It will be hard to lift the Divers' Championship if Sébastien Loeb wins this weekend, but there are a lot of kilometres remaining here and on the final round in Great Britain so I'm not giving up yet."
Leg 1 also metered out disappointment for Kris Meeke (Subaru), seventh and the highest-placed Irish driver after SS5, who took a maximum on SS7 and eventually retired on SS9 with mechanical failure.
Saturday’s second Leg in Northern Ireland was run in progressively wetter conditions, with standing water and making it impossible to judge grip levels.
Mikko Hirvonen (BP Ford Focus), made no attempt to overall fellow Finn Jari-Matti Latvala (Stobart Ford Focus) in third place, instead concentrating on a safe pace to keep ahead of fifth-placed Petter Solberg (Subaru), to claim sufficient points for Ford to claim the WRC Manufacturers' Championship.*
The top six places remained unchanged when the cars returned to Sligo after Sunday’s final leg of two stages in the North and two in the South of Ireland.
Guy Wilks (Subaru) emerged as the best of the non-manufacturer drivers in sixth place, ahead of Matthew Wilson in the second Stobart Ford Focus.
Gareth McHale (Ford Focus RS) was highest-placed Irish driver in eight place.
Ulsterman Niall McShea (Subaru) was 10th and won the Production category. Manxman Mark Higgins (Mitsubishi) needed victory in the category to keep his Championship hopes alive, but went off the road in SS16.
* Subject to FIA confirmation.
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