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Suzuki sur le podium du vendredi |
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Suzuki on the podium at
end of day one
Event news:
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) and 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."
Team news:
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."
Communiqué Suzuki WRT - Crédit
photos Rallybel |
