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Tanner Foust was able to add another win to his list after beating out Finnish rally driver Marcus Gronholm in the head-to-head SuperRally competition on Friday night at the Global RallyCross Pikes Peak finale. The Ford Fiesta driver opted to take a retirement from Formula Drift to conquer the Rally circuit and leading the Ford Fiesta sweep of the RallyCross Championship SuperRally was a great start to a weekend of racing.

Unfortunately for Foust, Saturday wouldn’t prove to be as successful. Hoping to overtake Gronholm right at the finish line, Foust had a run-in with Swedish driver Michael Jernberg. Insanity then ensued as race officials turned to replay videos to determine whether or not Foust and Jernberg crossed the finish line during their collision, which would have rewarded them with a wild second and third place finish. The officials determine however that neither Foust or Jernberg crossed the finish line and second place went to David Higgins while third place went to Stephen Verdier, another fellow Formula Drift driver.

Watch the video after the break to see the unfortunate, yet entertaining finish.

[Source: Motor Trend]

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As a people the Finns love Rally car racing. They love watching it (especially when they’re watching famous native drivers like Marcus Grönholm or Tommi Mäkinen) and they love to get involved. They particularly like to drive… and crash. The above YouTube video compilation is made up entirely of Finnish rally car drivers slamming into pretty much anything from rocks, to trees and getting a lot of air in the process.

And the best part is, unlike every other such video on YouTube, there’s no Linkin Park soundtrack – just the sound of crushing metal.

Many, many people were harmed in the making of this video.

Both Ford and Suzuki had high hopes heading into this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, but both were disappointed as neither automaker managed to run the 156 turn course in under 10 minutes.

Suzuki pilot Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima still managed to run the fasted time of the day, however, at 10 minutes, 15 seconds in his 885hp Monster Sport SX4 Hillclimb Special. While Tajima didn’t beat his time last year of 10 minutes and 1 second, he is still the Pikes Peak world record holder and reigning King of the Hill.

Ford’s efforts with two 800hp Fiestas, piloted by two of the world’s best rally drivers, came up significantly short of the mark as Marcus Gronholm managed only an 11:29 while Andreas Eriksson crashed his car during practice and again during the timed run.

GALLERY: Pikes Peak Ford Fiesta

GALLERY: Monster Sport SX4 Hillclimb Special

[Source: BSMotoring]

In an attempt to drum-up interest in the launch of the Fiesta in North America, Ford is putting on a serious publicity stunt by running two 800 horsepower versions of the economy car in the legendary Pikes Peak race.

Ford is eager to appeal not just to econonomically-minded individuals with the Fiesta sub-compact, but also to enthusiasts as it attempts to set a Pike Peak record with a sub-10 minute run up the mountain.

To do this not only will Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution race team owner Andreas Eriksson be piloting one of the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder Fiesta racers, but so will rally legend Marcus Grönholm. In World Rally Championship competition Grönholm has won 30 races and clinched the championship twice. 

Both Eriksson and Grönholm will certainly need all 800 horses when they take on the 12.4-mile, 156-turn dirt and tarmac climb on July 19th.

“We’re pleased to have a top independent team like Olsbergs MSE coming to the U.S. with their Fiesta Rallycross cars to take on the challenge of Pike’s Peak,” said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports. “This will be a great chance for enthusiasts here to see in this unique setting what a lot of the rest of the world is already talking about – that the Fiesta is a great road car and a great race car.”

Ford Motor Company’s director of Global Motorsport Business Development, Jost Capito, said: “The Pike’s Peak event is another step forward for the new Ford Fiesta as a core vehicle in Ford’s future global motorsport aspirations. We’re looking forward to seeing Andreas and Marcus in action on this unique event.”

GALLERY: Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution Ford Fiesta Rallycross

Official release after the jump:

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