WRC: Official: Gronholm, all '06 Fords penalised.

[Rory Phoulorie]

Marcus Gronholm and fellow Ford runners, Mikko Hirvonen, Jari-Matti Latvala, Henning Solberg, Matthew Wilson and Gareth MacHale have all been handed five-minute penalties following post-event checks on the Rally de Portugal.

After technical scrutineering all the 06 spec Ford Focus WRC runners were found to have rear side windows not conforming to the regulations and, as such, they were each given a five-minute penalty and a reprimand.

The full statement from the Stewards of the rally, issued at 21.15 hours local time, read:

�The Stewards initially received a written report from the FIA Technical Delegate which stated that the rear side windows (right and left) of Car No.3, Entrant BP-Ford World Rally Team, crew Marcus Gronholm/Timo Rautiainen did not comply with the homologation form of the car.

�The Stewards subsequently received another report from the FIA Technical Delegate which stated that the identical windows of cars No.4, No.9, No.10, No.16 and No 23 did not conform with the homologation requirements also.

�The stewards then summoned the entrants of all the above cars to them.

�Car No.23, Mr. Gareth MacHale was not represented.

�The following were present: Mr. John Millington, Team Manager, accompanied by Mr. Christian Loriaux, Technical Director and Mr. Jost Capito, Director Ford Team RS, Ford of Europe.

�When confronted with the evidence that the side windows measured 3mm instead of the minimum 3.5mm, the Ford representatives stated that the windows, which are made of polycarbonate, are manufactured by a reputed manufacturer who is aware of the requirement of homologation and furthermore has been making these types of windows for a number of years.

�The representatives confirmed that they had erred in not measuring the thickness of these windows before their fitment.

�The representatives further stated that a reduction of 0.5mm was really inconsequential as far as an attempt to attain a benefit was concerned.

�The stewards agreed that a benefit was not the issue. The issue was that a technical regulation had been breached and, of that, there was no doubt.

�The stewards then conferred amongst themselves at length seeking a solution that would be apt under the circumstances and decide to levy a five-minute time penalty on each of the above cars as well as a penalty of a reprimand to each of the entrants for the carelessness displayed in using an incorrect part.�

The penalties have a dramatic effect on the outcome of the fifth round in the championship and, as a result, Gronholm drops from second to fourth in the overall classification and loses the lead in the drivers' championship. From being two points in front of Sebastien Loeb, he now trails the Frenchman by one point.

Hirvonen also loses two places and drops from third to fifth. The net effect of this is that, while BP Ford originally scored 14 points - the same as Citroen - it now only scores nine points, and sees its lead in the manufacturers' standings reduced from 15 points to eight.

The Stobart Ford team also loses out, with Jari-Matti Latvala down from sixth in the classification to eighth. He therefore scores only one drivers' point. He also only picks up two for the Stobart Ford team, instead of three. The Ford �B' team also misses out on the final manufacturers' point, as Henning Solberg drops from ninth to eleventh.

Stobart's third driver, Matthew Wilson, and Gareth MacHale are not affected by the penalties in terms of the overall classification and, despite incurring five-minute penalties, they remain twelfth and 13th respectively.

The misfortune that befell the Fords promotes Petter Solberg from fourth to second, Daniel Sordo from fifth to third, Daniel Carlsson from seventh to sixth, Gigi Galli from eighth to seventh, Manfred Stohl from tenth to ninth and Andreas Mikkelsen from eleventh to tenth.

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[Rory Phoulorie]

Ford: We will launch 'detailed investigation'.

Ford has pledged to launch a 'detailed investigation' after six of its cars, including those of 'A' team drivers, Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen, were penalised by the stewards.

All the 06 spec Ford Focus WRC runners - namely Gronholm and Hirvonen, as well as Stobart trio, Jari-Matti Latvala, Henning Solberg and Matthew Wilson and privateer Gareth MacHale - were given five minute penalties and a reprimand following the finish of the Rally de Portugal, the fifth round in the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship, after the event scrutineers found that the rear side windows did not comply with the homologation form of the car in terms of thickness.

Although the discrepancy was minuscule - less than half a millimetre and would have had no affect in terms of performance, Ford have accepted the judgement of the stewards and will not be appealing.

Indeed while the stewards agreed it would not have benefited the cars, it was still a breach of the regulations and as such could not go unpunished.

Ford team director Malcolm Wilson said he was �disappointed' with the whole situation, but conceded that it their own fault.

"We were disappointed to learn from the scrutineers that the team made an error," he confirmed. "We will launch a detailed investigation into how this could have happened at M-Sport."

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