Suzuki on the podium at end of day one
On the final event of this year's World Rally Championship, both the Suzuki
SX4 WRC entries are in the points, confirming the solid progress made
throughout the season. P-G Andersson finished the day in third - Suzuki's
best-ever result - while his team mate Toni Gardemeister was 11th after
being slowed by a badly misting-up windscreen.
The opening day of the Wales Rally GB was characterised by bad weather that
forced the cancellation of two special stages and the shortening of four
further tests, reducing the competitive distance considerably. Nonetheless,
huge crowds braved the British climate to witness some classic stages that
have not been used since 2001. Despite the sheet ice and incredibly slippery
conditions, neither Gardemeister nor Andersson put a foot wrong and both are
poised to continue their strong run tomorrow. Saturday's action will consist
of seven more stages, concluding with a run through the spectator
superspecial stage in Cardiff's Millennium stadium. At less than a kilometre
long, this is the shortest stage in the entire World Rally Championship.
Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
Both SX4 WRCs were perfectly reliable all day, encountering no problems
throughout the opening six stages of the rally. In view of the icy
conditions, both drivers softened the suspension of their cars in an attempt
to find traction and grip. This worked well, enabling the Suzukis to climb
into the points. However, the constant rain meant that the windscreen of
Toni Gardemeister's car misted up badly during the afternoon's loop of
stages, robbing him of visibility and almost forcing him to a stop on more
than one occasion. Nonetheless, the opening day of the Wales Rally GB has
underlined both the pace and reliability of Suzuki on a level playing field
- as today's action was new to most of the drivers.
Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "When the windscreen misted up in the afternoon it was
really bad; I could hardly see at all, and I was having to ask my co-driver
Tomi about what he could see through the right-hand bends. It got much worse
after the watersplash, so some water must have got into the car. But when
conditions are good, we can set some nice times so I'm hoping for another
strong day tomorrow. It was definitely the right decision to cancel the
stages, as the ice was really bad in the morning."
P-G Andersson: "It's been a great day today, and I am very proud to be on
the podium overnight; the first time that this has happened for me or Suzuki
with the SX4 WRC. This just goes to show that all the hard work we have put
in over the year is really starting to pay off. Conditions today have been
as bad as I can remember on the Rally GB: even the road sections were
slippery! But I've really enjoyed today and I am aiming for another strong
run tomorrow."
Suzuki Team Director Shusuke Inagaki: "The rally route has been even more
difficult today than we expected, on account of the adverse weather
conditions. The areas of ice were completely unpredictable, making for one
of the most difficult rallies of the season. In these very tough conditions,
our SX4 WRC proved that it was capable of fighting with the world's best and
finishing on the provisional podium. Of course there is still a very long
way to go over the next two days so we hope to capitalise upon this very
promising start."
-credit: suzukisport.com
