Suzuki World Rally Team day one and two report from Rally Japan 2008
Rally Japan (J), Saturday 1 November, day two (SS11-SS20)
Suzuki confirms pace and consistency with stage win on day two of Rally
Japan
The second day of the Rally Japan took in ten more stages that were very
different to those of the opening day, but the two Suzuki SX4 WRCs still
displayed the pace and consistency that saw them both finish within the
driver points at the end of Friday. After Saturday's action, Toni
Gardemeister is in sixth place - having claimed Suzuki's first-ever stage
win on SS19 - while P-G Andersson is just behind him in seventh, following a
puncture that he had to stop and change on SS16. Earlier the young Swede and
his SX4 WRC had shown some extremely promising pace, by setting
second-fastest time on the opening stage of the day and climbing to joint
fifth overall.
The stages were much faster and rougher than they had been on the opening
day, providing a stark contrast for all the drivers and teams. Despite these
extremely challenging conditions and some uncertain weather, both SX4 WRCs
were very reliable throughout the 156 competitive kilometres that made up
Saturday. In front of thousands of excited home fans, the Suzukis put in an
extremely competitive performance in what is still only their first fullseason of competition.
The third and final day of the Rally Japan has an early start at 06:00
tomorrow before the first of nine stages and 96.43 competitive kilometres
that will decide the outcome of the rally and most likely this year's World
Championship titles. Suzuki will start the last day of its home event with
the firm aim of scoring driver points with both cars, and confirming the
progress that has been consistently made since the start of the season.
Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
The cars had to face a variety of unknown conditions, with the Rally Japan
being run on these stages for the very first time. Due to the soft ground
and rough surfaces, the drivers had to select a tall enough ride height to
get through the stages without problems but still guarantee precise
handling. In the afternoon the crews tackled a marathon run of six
consecutive stages without service, including the longest stage of the rally
at 33 kilometres, before the action concluded with two more passages through
the spectator superspecial inside the famous Sapporo Dome, where
Gardemeister set joint fastest time.
On the second run through the stages the roads cut up quite badly, leading
to several rocks being pulled out onto the ideal racing line. At the
30-minute midday service halt, Andersson and Gardemeister both softened the
suspension of their cars in order to improve traction on the slippery
Japanese surfaces. The Suzukis were perfectly reliable throughout the day,
although Gardemeister's SX4 WRC suffered from an overheating rear
differential during the closing stages of the afternoon. With Gardemeister
and Andersson now comfortably inside the driver points, the yellow cars are
poised for a strong finish on the final day of the rally tomorrow.
Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister:
I'm very proud to have recorded Suzuki's first stage win! But the day has been tricky for us. In the morning I think we drove quite well, although the stages were so slippery and difficult that it was hard to analyse exactly what was going on. Then in the afternoon we had a problem with the rear differential. Nonetheless, we've got to the end of the day within the driver points and our aim is to try and build on that tomorrow."
P-G Andersson:
What a day! It was a real shame we had the puncture, but the
roads were so rough that it was inevitable this would happen to somebody. We came into a junction nine kilometres from the start and the soft ground just pulled the tyre off the wheel rim, so I had to stop and change it. That shouldn't take anything away from what has been an extremely positive day for us though. We've been second-fastest on a stage, fifth overall, and the car has been completely reliable: that's a sign of really solid progress."
Team news:
Shusuke Inagaki, Suzuki World Rally Team Director:
Considering that we have not yet even completed one full season of the championship, this event has gone very well for us so far. To be in the top eight is a great achievement, and we are very proud that our car has shown both performance and reliability. Tomorrow is another long day, so we need to stay fully concentrated all the way to the finish."
Rally Japan (J), Friday 31 October, day one (SS1-SS10)
Both Suzuki SX4 WRC pilots are in the driver points at the end of the
opening day of the Rally Japan, Suzuki's eagerly-anticipated home event. P-G
Andersson returns to parc ferme in Sapporo holding a strong seventh place
overall while his team mate Toni Gardemeister is eighth. After a
trouble-free first day, the Suzuki drivers are both looking forward to
another clean run through the stages tomorrow.
A number of incidents, underlining the drama of the World Rally
Championship, affected the action today. Stages three and seven of the day
were cancelled because of too much snow at high altitude, a characteristic
of Hokkaido in winter. The sixth stage of the day was stopped, and the
resulting delay also caused the cancellation of stage eight. The action
ended with two runs through the spectacular spectator superspecial stage in
the Sapporo Dome, where the cars raced side-by-side on a specially-designed
circuit. This was the first time that rally cars had ever raced together
under a completely covered stadium, and it proved to be a huge hit with the
thousands of excited Japanese fans.
Today's stages were narrow and very slippery, with plenty of mud. The
weather remained cold and dry in the morning, but conditions turned wet in
the evening. Tomorrow's action is faster and more open, with ten more
special stages scheduled. The first car is due out of parc ferme at 07:30
before the 156.78 competitive kilometres that make up day two.
Gardemeister had an unusual start to the rally, when he had to take a
Japanese driving test earlier in the week because his normal Monaco licence
was not valid in Japan. Although he passed the test, he has to carry a
special sticker on the back and the front of his car to indicate that his is
an 'inexperienced' driver!
Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
With yesterday's shakedown test taking place on asphalt inside the Sapporo
Dome, the stages today were a big leap into the unknown for the Suzuki
drivers along with all the other crews. With only a 30-minute service
between the first and second loop of stages, there was not enough time to
make major changes to the car set-up during the day, but nonetheless the
drivers were reasonably pleased with the handling of the SX4 WRC throughout
the opening lap despite a general lack of traction and grip. The cars
completed the asphalt superspecial on gravel tyres with a full gravel
set-up, before the final 45-minute service of the day, where some changes
were made to the suspension settings in preparation for day two. Both cars
have been entirely reliable today, continuing Suzuki's recent progress.
Consequently the drivers are comfortably inside the top eight and are
well-poised to move up the leaderboard tomorrow.
Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister:
The stages this morning were very slippery, with some
snow by the side of the road as well, so it was a struggle to find traction. We plan to make a few changes to the set-up tonight, so hopefully the car should be well-suited to the stages tomorrow. But we're already very pleased to be in the points and the plan is definitely to continue this way, without taking any risks. The superspecial stage was a lot of fun and I think it was a great show for everyone!"
P-G Andersson:
I'm very pleased to be back on gravel, which is my favourite
surface, and I think we've got off to a good start. Today's stages were very technical and tricky: I think we will enjoy the stages tomorrow and on Sunday more. For the time being we are in a good position and the car has been very reliable; now we have to capitalise upon this and avoid making any mistakes."
Team news:
Shusuke Inagaki, Suzuki World Rally Team Director:
We are pleased with the way that Rally Japan has started for us, with both our cars in the driver points, but there is still a very long way to go over 19 stages, so we cannot draw any firm conclusions. The conditions have not been easy, but our drivers have so far found exactly the right balance between speed and safety, so I would urge them to continue at this pace. We've been delighted by all the support we have received from our local fans, which has been much appreciated."
Shakedown:
Images and article by Suzuki Press
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