Peugeot announces 2005 drivers

Markko Martin Joins Marcus Gronholm at Peugeot

Team Peugeot Total is delighted to announce that it has come to an agreement which will allow Marcus Gronholm and Timo Rautiainen to be partnered in 2005 by Markko Martin and his co-driver Michael Park.

After a 2004 season that failed to enable the team to achieve its objectives, Peugeot Sport intends to bounce back in 2005 with a competitive and now reliable 307, a new tyre partner, Pirelli, and two of the world's best drivers of the moment.

Marcus Gronholm, 36, a keystone of Peugeot Sport's line-up for the past six years is to continue with the team that has enabled him to win a total of sixteen rallies and two Drivers' world crowns, in 2000 and 2002.

Markko Martin, 29, finished third in the 2004 Drivers' World Championship and boasts a total of five WRC wins. "Despite this agreement being limited to just one year, I am very happy to be joining Peugeot Sport and I am looking forward to having Marcus as team-mate. We get on well together and I have a great deal of respect for him. I believe he is still the fastest driver in the championship," he says. "My main objective will be to work closely with both Marcus and the team to enhance the competitiveness of the Peugeot 307 WRC and to play my part in securing the Manufacturers' and Drivers' titles."

The two drivers are friends and have mutual respect and admiration for each other. "Markko is a first class recruit," confides Marcus Gronholm. "He has shown that he is very strong on all types of surface, and that is very important for Peugeot's bid to secure the Manufacturers' championship in 2005. I am certain his arrival in the team will ensure a serene, cordial atmosphere."

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