Gronholm survives SS3 scare

Gronholm, who is currently leading the rally, went off the road at the start of the second running of the 18.14km Fredriksberg stage. He recovered to record the 10th fastest time of the stage and did not lose his overall lead of the event.

However, he said that he almost got stuck and the incident made him lose his mental flow through the stage.

"I made a small mistake at the first junction and nearly went off the road," said Gronholm. "I was going too quickly and almost got stuck in a snowbank. I had to put the car into first gear and use full throttle to get out.  I lost my rhythm and confidence after that and I was in and out of the snowbanks a lot.

"Road conditions had changed since this morning and things didn't feel as good.  There was gravel showing through the ice in stage four.  I tried to stay in the ruts but the gravel ate the tyres and we lost a few studs. 

"It's easy to make a mistake in those situations," he added.