Gronholm closes in on victory

The double world champion, in his first drive for Ford following seven years with Peugeot, eased off and drove this morning's opening three stages with care, but still has a 1 minute and 45 second lead over the rest of the field.

Should Gronholm negotiate those three stages without any drama, he will take the Blue Oval's first WRC victory for 18 rallies. Markko Martin won the last event for the team, at the 2004 Catalunya Rally.

Toni Gardemiester continues to hang on to second in his privateer Astra Motorsport-run Peugeot 307, and broke Sebastien Loeb's run of six consecutive stage victories by setting the fastest time overall through SS14, the 14.45 km stage from Col St Roch to Lantosque.

He will do well to fend off reigning champion Loeb in the final three stages however. Loeb has overtaken Manfred Stohl for third after winning SS13 and SS15 and is now just 14.5 seconds behind Gardemeister.

Stohl has settled for fourth and dropped back from Gardemeister after the Finn's strong performance this morning, with 40 seconds separating the pair when only 2.9 seconds separated them overnight.

The Subaru pair of Stephane Sarrazin and Chris Atkinson remain in fifth and sixth, but both have continued to push this morning, and both were inside the top four fastest runners in SS14 and SS15. Atkinson put in his best stage performance of his debut Monte Carlo Rally, with the third fastest time on SS14.

Gronholm's Ford teammate Mikko Hirvonen has moved into the points-paying positions in seventh, benefiting from bad luck to befall Red Bull Skoda driver Gilles Panizzi.

Panizzi, who was running as high as second on Friday, touched the side of a rock on the first corner on SS13, breaking the front left wheel. He fought back on SS14 to retake the position from Hirvonen, however the Finn got the upper hand back on SS15.

Dani Sordo lies in eighth place in the Kronos Racing-run Citroen Xsara.

Leader board after SS 15:

Pos  Driver        Make     Time
 1.  Gronholm      Ford     3h 24:39.9
 2.  Gardemeister  Peugeot  +   1:45.8
 3.  Loeb          Citroen  +   2:00.3
 4.  Stohl         Peugeot  +   2:26.6
 5.  Sarrazin      Subaru   +   3:31.4
 6.  Atkinson      Subaru   +   4:56.0
 7.  Hirvonen      Ford     +   6:00.2
 8.  Sordo         Citroen  +   6:03.0
 9.  Pons          Citroen  +   7:22.4
10.  Panizzi       Skoda    +   8:42.8