During
the morning, the SX4 WRC had its first taste
of action at the shakedown test near Ajaccio:
a last-minute opportunity to finalise settings
and refine the car before the competitive
stages start tomorrow.
The car posted some respectable times at
the shakedown, but as will be the case during
the rally itself, the team is looking only
to increase the amount of development distance
the SX4 WRC has undertaken, with the two
rallies this year an extension of the testing
programme in preparation for a full campaign
in 2008.
During the afternoon, the team hosted a
media launch on a ship moored in Ajaccio
harbour - the venue for the headquarters
and service park of the 13th round of this
year's World Rally Championship.
Chief engineer of the Suzuki Motor Corporation
Osamu Honda was present at the launch, along
with Nobuhiro Tajima (the president of Suzuki
Sport), Michel Nandan, (the team's technical
manager), and the driving crew of Bernardi
and Fortin.
The drivers left the press launch as soon
as it finished to cross the start ramp at
the Place Foch in central Ajaccio, the capital
of Corsica. The first of 16 all-asphalt
special stages gets underway at 08:38 tomorrow,
with the last car due in parc ferme by 21:00
tomorrow evening.
The route of the Rallye de France has changed
considerably for this year compared to 2006,
with all-new stages on Friday and Saturday,
so nobody starts with an advantage in terms
of experience.
Car
news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.19:
Suzuki had a successful run through
the short shakedown stage this morning,
located just outside Ajaccio. The team
took advantage of the four-hour session
to make several adjustments to the SX4
WRC as it prepared for its competitive
debut. As the car has only completed
around 1000 kilometres of asphalt testing
so far, the shakedown test was a vital
opportunity to try out some new solutions
that could be used in the rally. |
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Driver news:
Suzuki World Rally Team driver Nicolas Bernardi
- co-driven by Belgian Jean-Marc Fortin
- was pleased by the SX4 WRC's performance
during the shakedown, finding the car exactly
how he had left it during the most recent
test sessions in the south of France. The
30 year-old Frenchman commented: "The
car felt very easy to drive during the shakedown,
which was the main thing, and its compact
dimensions meant that it was easy to handle
around the corners. While the feeling was
very good, it is important to remember that
we can't expect miracles from its first
competitive outing. Our goal is firmly to
get to the end of the rally and accumulate
more information for the future. It was
fun to have the press conference on the
boat in the harbour, and there was a huge
amount of interest in us and or car, which
was very pleasing."
Team news:
The newly-formed Suzuki World Rally team,
consisting of 25 people in Corsica, spent
the day learning to work together under
competitive conditions for the first time.
As well as a life-size test for the car,
this year's two rallies will also be a test
for the team. Nobuhiro Tajima, team principal
of the Suzuki World Rally Team, commented:
"Our team is Japanese, but there are
lots of people all over the world working
very hard for us now. We are newcomers,
so our aim to is to get more experience
from this rally and have some feedback for
the future. Above all we need to get to
the finish in Corsica - so we will be continuing
our test programme here rather than pushing
hard. This is why we are using our test
drivers for the two events we are competing
on this year. Finally,the adventure has
begun!" Michel Nandan, the team's technical
manager, added: "On the whole I am
satisfied with our performance in the shakedown
today. We have achieved what we set out
to do so far: now we have to continue in
this way in order to make the most of this
valuable testing opportunity."
More information: www.suzuki-wrc.com
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