Gronholm takes rally title bid to Germany

Agence France-Presse, Berlin, Germany

The world rally championship moves on to uncharted waters this week with the Rally of Germany making its debut on the calendar in place of its out-of-favor cousin in Portugal.

Following a third straight win in his own back yard in this month's Rally of Finland championship leader Marcus Gronholm will be looking to turn the screw further on his nearest rivals on this tarmac circuit around the ancient Roman city of Trier in the Rhineland.

The Peugeot-driving Finn is on 47 points, 17 ahead of Ford's Colin McRae who in turn has a four-point cushion over another Ford man, third-placed Carlos Sainz.

Aside from trying to eat into Gronholm's deficit both McRae or Sainz turn up with the unsettling knowledge that one of them could be for the chop next season - with Ford eager to save money to finance the development of the Ford Focus car.

The Rally Of Germany, an amalgam of two old German rallies starting on Thursday and covering 415 kilometers of competitive racing over 23 special stages, will particularly suit tarmac specialists.

The backdrop for the opening stages characterized by long straights and tight hairpin bends are the vineyards famous for producing Mosel wine. From there the race moves on to an area formerly used for testing army tanks.

Second to Gronholm in Finland came reigning champion and his fellow Peugeot driver Richard Burns, who is struggling in fourth place in the overall standings, 22 points behind the leader.

Four-time world champion Tommi Makinen may be out of contention for the 2002 title but he still hopes to put in a bold showing here.