Suzuki
World Rally Team gets gravel campaign underway
Event news:
Suzuki has embarked on its first gravel
rally with the all-new SX4 WRC, after Finns
Sebastian Lindholm and Tomi Tuominen took
the ceremonial start for the Rally Great
Britain this evening in Cardiff. During
the morning, the SX4 WRC had its first taste
of gravel action at the shakedown test near
Swansea: a last-minute opportunity to finalise
settings and refine the car before the competitive
stages start tomorrow. Nonetheless Suzuki
is still in the testing and development
phase with the all-new SX4 WRC, which will
only embark on its first full season in
2008.
The first of 17 all
gravel special stages gets underway at 09:53
tomorrow, with the final service taking
place at 17:36 tomorrow evening at the service
park in Swansea.
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Car
news - Suzuki SX4 WRC No.19:
The Suzuki SX4 WRC completed several
runs through the shakedown stage this
morning, but was forced to stop when
the engine overheated. The car was
recovered to service and re-prepared
for the start. A number of different
solutions are making their appearance
on the car for the first time, with
a new valve operating system, engine
mapping, anti-lag system and differential
settings.
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Driver news:
Suzuki World Rally Team test driver Sebastian
Lindholm - co-driven by his fellow Finn
Tomi Tuominen - was satisfied with the SX4
WRC's performance during the shakedown.
The 46 year-old commented: "The car
feels strong in every area, and there is
clearly a lot of potential for the future.
My mission on this rally is to learn more
and accumulate as many kilometres of testing
as possible. I feel confident, but this
weekend will be very difficult for everyone
as the weather conditions are expected to
be very bad. Still, this is typical of Rally
GB and it helps our testing programme!"
Team news:
The newly-formed Suzuki World Rally team
learned a lot about working together in
gravel conditions on only the squad's second-ever
rally. Nobuhiro Tajima, team principal of
the Suzuki World Rally Team, commented:
"This is only our first gravel rally,
so it is important that Sebastian uses his
noted experience on this surface in order
to assess our form compared to the opposition.
To make sure we do this, the priority is
to finish the rally. Rally Great Britain
is one of the most difficult events of the
year, so it is sure to be a very big challenge
for everyone in the team. After having made
our first steps on asphalt in Corsica, understanding
more about gravel is our next target this
weekend."
More
information: www.suzuki-wrc.com
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