There are two Suzukis in the top three at the end of the inaugural Rally Norway, underlining a stunning performance for the Swift in which the little yellow car won 16 out of a possible 18 stages! Former Junior World Champion P-G Andersson claimed victory on the first round of this season after a fault-free drive, while his team mate Urmo Aava was third. Throughout the three days of this extremely demanding event, characterised by sub-zero temperatures, none of the Suzuki drivers had any mechanical problems. The next round, by contrast, takes place on gravel in Portugal from March 30-April 1.

News from P-G
P-G Andersson (1st in JRC): "It's been a fantastic rally: I've really enjoyed myself over all three days and the car has not missed a beat. I took a five-minute advantage into the final day, so really today was all about keeping out of trouble and making sure I got to the finish. The stages today were actually really difficult and it is never easy to drive in a situation where you have nothing more to gain and everything to lose. Nonetheless we did it, and I'm relieved to start my championship campaign in the best possible way!"

News from Urmo
Urmo Aava (3rd in JRC): "It's been a tough rally: I knew that I had no chance of reaching second today as the gap was too big, so I concentrated on trying to defend my third place and score some useful points in the championship. Unfortunately I lost a lot of time after hitting a tree stump on the opening day: without that problem I believe I could have been challenging for a win. Still, I am happy to take the points for third place, and I am sure we will be fighting for victory again in Portugal."

News from Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, team principal
"This has been an extremely challenging rally for everybody: even three-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb went off twice in two different stages! Despite this, P-G has driven in an extremely sensible way while Suzuki has taken the vast majority of the stage wins. We have two cars on the podium: an excellent result!"

Junior Rally Championship final classification, Rally Norway:
1 P-G Andersson (Suzuki Swift) 3h49m37.9s
2 Patrick Sandell (Renault Clio) +7m33.7s
3 Urmo Aava (Suzuki Swift) +15m12.4s
4 Jan Molder (Suzuki Swift) +19m03.1s
5 Aaron Burkart (Citroen C2) +23m44.7s
6 Trond Gudbrand (Ford Fiesta) +28m26.0s
7 Andrea Cortinovis (Renault Clio) +29m25.0s
8 Shaun Gallagher (Citroen C2) +36m19.9s

However, none of the Suzuki drivers were held back by any problems in the afternoon, and P-G Andersson now holds a commanding five-minute lead heading into the final day. Third place for Estonian Urmo Aava means that there are now two Suzukis in the top three.

News from P-G
P-G Andersson (1st in JWRC after SS14): "We had a lot of fun today: these stages are simply awesome! The Mountain stage in particular was a real highlight; there was so much snow that it was sometimes hard to see where we were going! I've been going at a good pace without taking any stupid risks and that is my plan for tomorrow as well. I have just been driving in the middle of the road and only pushing in the places where I feel really confident. The car has been perfect: no problems at all."

News from Urmo
Urmo Aava (3rd in JWRC after SS14): "I was not very happy when everybody was given notional times for the stage this morning, as nobody had told me that this would happen. I drove the stage at full speed, taking lots of risks and wrecking two tyres, for absolutely nothing. Apart from that I had no problems but I really regret losing so much time after hitting a tree stump yesterday, as our pace shows that we could have been fighting at the front.
Still, third is not bad at all under the circumstances."

News from Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, team principal
"Many top drivers have made big mistakes today but P-G has been perfect, choosing exactly the right balance between speed and safety. The final day of the rally is probably the most difficult of them all, containing a repeat of the Mountain stage and concluding with the longest stage of the event. It is important for P-G to continue in the way that he has started and make sure of claiming the victory he deserves."

LEG 1: SS1-8 Leg information: Stages: 8 (143.10 kms competitive total) Surface: Snow Weather: Cold and dry The inaugural Rally Norway was characterised by crisp and cold weather on day one: perfect driving conditions for a winter rally. The Suzukis were on flying form to win every stage today, with P-G Andersson and Urmo Aava straight into first and second places. Unfortunately though, Aava hit a tree stump shortly after the start of SS6 that broke his front axle and forced him into a retirement.

P-G now carries a comfortable lead of more than two minutes into the second day, but there is still a long way to go in what is already turning into a classic snow rally to remember.

News from P-G
P-G Andersson (1st in JWRC after SS8): "I felt comfortable with the car straight away. The biggest problem I had was losing studs off my tyres on SS3 - which was a repeat of SS1. There was a lot of loose gravel and that ripped out many of the studs, making the car slide all over the place. I expected Urmo to be my biggest challenger so now that he has lost time a little of the pressure is off, although I cannot afford to lose any concentration. We've had no problems at all with the car today and I've been trying to drive safely within my limits. The stages have been really good fun."

News from Urmo
Urmo Aava (retired SS6, accident damage): "It's very disappointing to retire, although I hope to be back under the super rally system tomorrow and I still have a good chance of scoring points. I was reasonably happy with my speed today but I was not completely satisfied with my pace notes. I only had about 98% confidence, and I think the missing 2% is what made the difference between me and P-G today. The tree stump we hit was hidden in the snow on the inside of a corner, so we had no chance to see it. Now we just have to treat tomorrow as another day."

News from Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, team principal
"Many congratulations to P-G, who has driven a fast but sensible rally so far, on a surface where he is an expert. It is a pity that Urmo could not finish the day, but at least he has proved again that he has the speed to run at the front. There is still a long way to go, so our drivers need to remain careful and concentrated..."