The Finnish driver managed to climb all the way into 2nd place overall at the end of Day 1 and seemed ready to climb the overall podium at his very returning event in the WRC. However, Gronholm failed to keep his car on the road in the first stage of Day 2, running wide in a corner and damaging his car. As a result, the engine was destroyed and the Fin had to retire.
Nevertheless, the fact that Subaru still has what it takes to battle the big guys on top of the standings has made Prodrive think further from Rally Portugal. Considering Gronholm is a gravel specialist and most of the 2009 events will be ran on that surface, Prodrive's decision to reconsider their WRC programme seems sustainable.
“Marcus has shown just how competitive he can be in the Impreza. If it wasn’t the accident yesterday, I am sure he would have been on the podium today,” said Prodrive team principal, David Lapworth.
The Subaru Impreza WRC2008 did, in fact, manage to make the Top 8 in Portugal, through Adapta World Rally Team driver Mads Ostberg. The Norwegian driver – considered the leader of the new generation of rally drivers in his country – finished the event in 6th place, his highest ranking so far in a WRC event.
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