Gronholm goes back to school

Double world champion Marcus Gronholm flew in Britain yesterday to help train some of the country’s youngest drivers.

After being driven by the five (James Wozencroft, Adam Gould, Jason Pritchard, Alastair Fisher and Jonny Greer) at a sprint circuit at Curborough, Staffordshire, Gronholm then went through a debrief with each, offering an insight into what they could do to improve their performance.

The Finn was impressed with what he saw from the drivers, saying: “They were good. Okay, they are young drivers and they are a little bit different. It’s not so easy to say on the track, the stage was not so long and all of them have been driving these corners a few times, so they know what they’re doing. But it was okay. There was some different feelings from some of the drivers, you know some of them were really pushing in the corners, while others were trying to be more precise. It was interesting.”

Gronholm also praised the governing body of British motorsport for the initiative, adding: “The scheme is very good, it’s choosing the best drivers and looking after them. We don’t have anything like this in Finland.”

The drivers were delighted to have had the chance to gain some tuition from a man who won 30 rounds of the World Rally Championship. Gould said: “It was amazing. I think we were all pretty nervous to think Marcus Gronholm was coming to sit with us, but once you were in the car you just wanted to do your best and not make any mistakes. It was a brilliant opportunity and he was really good with all the things he said.”