BP Ford's Marcus Gronholm has said that 💖he gained invaluable experience of the Irish speed tests, following his outing on the Galway International Rally over the weekend.

Although the Finn didn't have it all his own way, after tw꧟o spins and a puncture on Saturday, which dropped him behind three-time Irish champion, Eugene Donnelly, Marcus came back on day two and closed the gap, slashing the margin to just 1.1 seconds before Donnelly went off and retired in the penultimate stage.

Speaking♔ at the finish, t🉐he Ford driver was definitely won over by the event, which comprised 14 speed tests and 210.40km of competition over bumpy, narrow and twisty closed public roads.

"It's a good way to celebrate my birthday," said Gronholm, who turned 39 today [Monday]💜. "It's always good to win but the real reason for being here was to learn about the roads and develop a 🌳good feeling with the car ahead of Rally Ireland.

"The roads were totally different to anything I have driven on before, with many blind crests which requ🍃ired total accuracy with the pace notes. It was hard for me during the first day but by the end of the weekend I had a good feeling with the car and my confidence had improved. I'm pleased to have come here because the experience was good and the welcome from the Irish fans was unbelievable."

BP-Ford team direc🔯tor Malcolm Wilson meanwhile was also happy and reckons that it should help his 'star' come the inaugural WRC Rally Ireland in November.

"Weꦗ came here to learn as🀅 a team and for Marcus to benefit as a driver. We tried various different suspension settings and Marcus finished the event with a good knowledge of what these types of road require," summed-up Wilson Sr.

"We'll go back and analyse the data but I believe it was well w♌orth the effort of competing here because we have a large bank of information which will assist us greatly when preparing for Rally Ireland."