Ford identify sensor fault
Ford believe that a faulty temperature sensor in the engine of Marcus Gronholm's Focus could be the explanation for the Finn's lack of pace on day one of the Rally Mexico
Gronholm spent the whole leg on the fringe of the top five. He was badly affected by the dusty stages in the morning as he was running first on the road, and he felt that he had chosen too narrow a tyre for the afternoon loop, but was otherwise perplexed to find himself in fifth place at the end of the day, 15 seconds and two places behind teammate Mikko Hirvonen.
"It wasn't such a good day but I don't really know why," said Gronholm.
"It wasn't great to be first on the road this morning because there was no line to follow and it was hard to find the braking points.
"But I also lost time this afternoon and I don't know why. Mikko and Seb (Loeb) had a wider tyre but I'm not sure it's just that."
The team subsequently discovered the temperature sensor fault, which was rectified in the evening service.
"It means Marcus hasn't had full performance from the engine this afternoon," said team boss Malcolm Wilson.
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