Suzuki driver P-G Andersson has become the first person to win the Junior Rally Championship title for the second time, having first claimed the championship with Suzuki in 2004. The Swede drove a brilliantly controlled rally to finish fourth today: enough to ensure that he becomes the 2007 Junior Rally Champion. P-G had no problems throughout the event, apart from a puncture on day two, and he finished the rally in style by winning the penultimate stage. In total P-G has claimed three wins on the Junior Championship this year, marking himself out as the most successful driver in the category.

His team mate Urmo Aava started the rally tied on points with P-G, but crashed out of the lead of on SS8 after negotiating a left-hand corner too quickly. Nonetheless he finishes second in the Junior Rally Championship, having performed consistently all year and claiming one victory.

Suzuki driver P-G Andersson has become the first person to win the Junior Rally Championship title for the second time, having first claimed the championship with Suzuki in 2004. The Swede drove a brilliantly controlled rally to finish fourth today: enough to ensure that he becomes the 2007 Junior Rally Champion. P-G had no problems throughout the event, apart from a puncture on day two, and he finished the rally in style by winning the penultimate stage. In total P-G has claimed three wins on the Junior Championship this year, marking himself out as the most successful driver in the category.
His team mate Urmo Aava started the rally tied on points with P-G, but crashed out of the lead of on SS8 after negotiating a left-hand corner too quickly. Nonetheless he finishes second in the Junior Rally Championship, having performed consistently all year and claiming one victory.

News from P-G (S):
P-G Andersson (4th in JRC after SS16): "It's an amazing feeling to win this prestigious championship for the second time. There was obviously a lot of pressure on me coming into this event, but I just did my best to try and deal with it as I could. I was not particularly worried when Urmo was in front of me at the start of the rally, as I knew that I had some pace in reserve. But I was really surprised when I saw his car off the side of the road on SS8 and I had to force myself to concentrate. The rest of the rally was all about trying to get the car to the finish in one piece and drive safely. Thankfully we managed it, and the result is another great championship title. I'd like to thank my co-driver Jonas Andersson and the entire Suzuki team, which has done a great job all year. Now I need to think carefully about what I do next, but I very much hope to extend my relationship with the Suzuki family into the future."

News from Urmo (EE):
Urmo Aava (Retired, SS8): "Congratulations to P-G and the entire team. He has driven very well all year and he deserves this title. Of course second place for me is not as good as first, but it's a great result for Suzuki to be first and second in the Junior Championship."

News from Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, team principal:
"Congratulations to P-G and Jonas for their fantastic achievement in becoming the first people to win the Junior Championship twice! They have driven very well and with great maturity, not just on this event but throughout the whole season. I feel sorry for Urmo and Kuldar, who have done a great job for us throughout the year as well. Most of all I am happy for Suzuki: to finish first and second in the Junior Championship - after entering the series in 2002 - is a fantastic reward for all the years of passion, commitment and hard work."

Junior Rally Championship classification after SS16, Rallye de France:
1 Martin Prokop Citroen C2 S1600 3h52m31.0s
2 Josef Beres Renault Clio S1600 +12.5s
3 Yoann Bonato Citroen C2 S1600 +1m14.2s
4 P-G Andersson Suzuki Swift S1600 +2m18.0s
5 Arnaud Augoyard Renault Clio R3 +5m08.2s
6 Andrea Cortinovis Renault Clio S1600 +6m13.0s
7 Aaaron Burkart Citroen C2 S1600 +6m13.1s
8 Conrad Rautenbach Citroen C2 S1600 +6m30.0s

This means that P-G is virtually assured of a second Junior Championship title, having first won the series with Suzuki in 2004. Despite crashing out of this event, Urmo is still virtually assured of second in the championship – making it a Suzuki one-two.

P-G Andersson (5th in JRC after SS12):
“First of all, I’d like to say that I genuinely feel sorry for Urmo: this is not how I wanted the fight to end. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that he had gone off in the stage, and I had to force myself extremely hard to concentrate. Later on in the same stage I had a spin: this caused a puncture that I had to stop and change, costing me about two minutes. After that I was able to focus on the job again. I just concentrated on bringing the car home safely for the rest of the day: it’s unlikely that we’ll see any more fastest times from me this weekend!”

Urmo Aava (Retired, SS8):
“What can I say? P-G was not far behind today so we had no choice but to push. And whenever you push hard on an event as difficult as this one, anything can happen. I just went into a left-hand corner a bit too quickly and understeered off the road: it was my mistake. These things happen in rallying sometimes and you have to accept the disappointments along with the triumphs.”

News from Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, team principal:
“I feel sorry for Urmo who had driven a fantastic rally up until the stage when he went off. He was feeling the pressure from P-G, which is normal when there is a big fight like this. P-G has done a sensible job today, and he needs to continue like this tomorrow in order to be sure of making the finish. Only then can he celebrate!”

Junior Rally Championship classification after SS12, Rallye de France
1 Martin Prokop Citroen C2 S1600 2h37m17.6s
2 Josef Beres Renault Clio S1600 +34.9s
3 Conrad Rautenbach Citroen C2 S1600 +1m11.4s
4 Yoann Bonato Citroen C2 S1600 +1m48.7s
5 P-G Andersson Suzuki Swift S1600 +2m31.0s
6 Arnaud Augoyard Renault Clio R3 +4m40.4s
7 Michal Kosciuszko Suzuki Swift S1600 +5m10.9s
8 Andrea Cortinovis Renault Clio S1600 +5m35.3s

Leg 1 Suzuki drivers Urmo Aava and P-G Andersson are fighting for this year’s Junior Championship on the Rallye de France – and after leg one it is the Estonian Urmo Aava who leads the category. P-G Andersson is currently third, just 16.9 seconds behind his team mate after five all-asphalt special stages (SS1 was cancelled due to spectator overcrowding). Corsica – the venue for France’s round of the World Rally Championship – is characterised by fast and twisty narrow mountain roads, where mistakes rarely go unpunished.

Both drivers found the right compromise between speed and safety today, to head into day two with their championship chances intact.

Urmo Aava (1st in JRC after SS6): “Today has not been too bad – I’ve only been pushing hard in the places where I think that it’s possible to get away with it. Above all I’ve tried to avoid punctures by taking clean lines. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the stages here today though: there is not too much loose gravel on the corners, which is not always the case on an asphalt rally. I think we will try and keep the same pace tomorrow and see what happens.”

P-G Andersson (3rd in JRC after SS6): “This morning I felt I had a little bit in reserve but then in the afternoon I pushed harder and I still couldn’t always stay with Urmo’s pace. It’s obviously frustrating to be third, but it’s more important to consider that the time gap to Urmo is not so big and that we haven’t made any mistakes today. The car has been really good all day, and I look forward to continuing this great fight with Urmo tomorrow.”

News from Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, team principal:
“Congratulations to both our drivers, who have been sensible enough to get to the finish today with no problems. The gap between them is relatively small, but they need to keep the same discipline tomorrow and avoid problems such as punctures in order to be sure of maximising their championship chances. Good luck to both of them – may the best man win!”

Junior Rally Championship classification after SS6, Rallye de France
1 Urmo Aava Suzuki Swift S1600 1h06m05.9s
2 Martin Prokop Citroen C2 S1600 +8.8s
3 P-G Andersson Suzuki Swift S1600 +16.9s
4 Aaron Burkart Citroen C2 S1600 +42.1s
5 Josef Beres Renault Clio S1600 +45.6s
6 Conrad Rautenbach Citroen C2 S1600 +1m03.7s
7 Arnaud Augoyard Renault Clio R3 +1m57.8s
8 Yoann Bonato Citroen C2 S1600 +3m00.0s