Leg 3: Suzuki driver Urmo has finished in the top 15 on rally japan: an event that he contested for the first time with the aim of showing the Japanese public this year's Junior Championship-winning Suzuki Swift Super 1600. Despite some truly challenging weather and difficult stage conditions, Urmo managed to stay on the road when many of the top drivers fell off, and his Suzuki Swift was entirely reliable throughout the three days and 27 stages of competition.

The only problem he experienced on the final leg was an oil leak from the transmission, which was rapidly changed at first service by the Suzuki mechanics.

The result is that he finishes the rally with a class win and a remarkable 15th place overall - in front of many more powerful four-wheel drive cars. Urmo started the rally running towards the back of the field, as car number 79, which meant that he continually had to cope with worsening conditions as the four-wheel drive cars cut up the roads. There were a number of sharp rocks in the road, and without anti-deflation mousse in his tyres, Urmo had to be constantly on the lookout to avoid them.

Having started the final leg of the rally in 16th place, Urmo concentrated on maintaining his rhythm and trying to improve his pace where it was safe to do so. He followed instructions perfectly to bring his car safely back to the finish.

Urmo Aava (EE):
"This rally has been a fantastic experience for me and I would like to thank Suzuki for giving me this valuable opportunity. Rally Japan has been one of the most challenging events I have ever driven on, and I think that both me and my co-driver Kuldar Sikk have learnt a lot over these three days. The softer Bridgestone tyres worked better in the drier conditions today, giving me good grip, and the stages were better suited to the car as there were no long uphill sections. We had no real problems during the event, but starting so far down the order behind all the Group N cars on Friday was a definite handicap: I don't think I've ever had a start number this low even in my early days on the Estonian Championship! However, this gave me a useful opportunity to learn more about driving in rough and rutted conditions, which will be invaluable for the future."

Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, Suzuki team principal:
"Congratulations to Urmo for doing another fantastic job for us, and bringing the car home safely. The idea here was for Urmo to enjoy himself and show everybody what our Super 1600 Swift can do: I think he has succeeded at both these things! Conditions were as difficult as they have ever been on the Rally Japan, but Urmo made no mistakes and our car was entirely reliable. Consequently, Urmo has brought us an impressive result at home, which is a perfect way for us to finish our season with the Swift Super 1600 - which finished first and second in the Junior Championship this year. Congratulations to everybody!”

Having started leg two of the event in 23rd place, Urmo finishes it in 16th position: just 11.9 seconds off the top 15 and in front of several more powerful four-wheel drive cars. As Rally Japan is not a round of this year's Junior Championship, Urmo and his co-driver Kuldar Sikk began the event with a low start position. This meant that they had to put up with rough roads and big rocks thrown up by the four-wheel drive cars ahead of them: many of which benefit from anti-deflation mousse in their tyres.
The junior cars do not have from that luxury, so Urmo always had to take care to avoid many of the rocks that were hidden in the mud. Nonetheless, he still managed to set some extremely competitive stage times that saw the diminutive Suzuki holding its own against much bigger cars. The high-revving Suzuki Swift Super 1600 was a real crowd-pleaser, making Urmo and Suzuki one of the highlights of the field for the enthusiastic spectators.


Urmo Aava (EE):
"Today was a little bit better in terms of road position, but there was still a huge amount of mud on the road that made the braking in particular very difficult. Many of these roads are extremely quick, so it's important not to take too many risks. The car has been perfectly reliable all day and very stable despite the lack of grip. I have learnt a lot from this rally, and my aim is to bring the car home tomorrow. If we can finish in the top 15 it would be a really fantastic result and not something I would actually have expected before the start of the rally."


Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, Suzuki team principal:
"Urmo has continued to do exactly the right thing today, driving with caution but also the right speed. If you look at the mistakes that some of the top drivers have made, his efforts here on his first visit to Rally Japan are all the more impressive. But tomorrow is still a very tough day and there is a lot to catch people out. He needs to stay concentrated and focus on bringing us all a good result here in Suzuki's homeland!"

Leg 1: Estonian Urmo Aava, competing on his first Rally Japan with the Junior Championship-winning Suzuki Swift Super 1600, had no major problems today on the opening 10 stages of the all-gravel event despite some extremely tough conditions. The weather was foggy in the morning, but this soon gave way to cloudy conditions and rain in the afternoon. Today's stages were mostly fast, but contained a wide variety of road conditions to test drivers and cars to the utmost.

Urmo took a little bit of time to get used to the unique Japanese stages and his road position some way down the field, but the Estonian soon adapted himself to the correct rhythm to end up in 23rd place overnight - just a minute away from the top 15!

Urmo's task was to demonstrate Suzuki's title-winning car to the enthusiastic Japanese public, but being a two-wheel drive machine the Swift Super 1600 started behind all the four-wheel drive World Rally Cars and Group N cars on the Rally Japan - which does not count for the Junior Championship. This meant that the roads were rough and rutted by the time the Suzuki crew drove them, making life difficult for Urmo and his co-driver Kuldar Sikk. Nonetheless, they lead the two-wheel drive classes comfortably - and look set to beat many much more powerful four-wheel drive cars!


Urmo Aava (EE):
"So far, I'm really enjoying my experience of the Rally Japan. It is a very nice rally but also one that is extremely challenging. The biggest difficulty for me has been starting so far down the order, behind all the Group N cars as well. The roads here are quite soft and muddy, and this means that they cut up quite badly. Not only did we struggle for traction sometimes, but we also had to take care to avoid some big rocks that were pulled out by the four-wheel drive cars. It was important to avoid punctures, but luckily we were able to keep out of trouble and bring the car back in one piece. I'm looking forward to finding out more about this fascinating event tomorrow and I'm very pleased by the pace we can have without taking too many risks."


Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, Suzuki team principal:
"Urmo has done exactly the right thing today which is to drive carefully through the stages and look after the car despite the tough conditions. There was some bad weather and big rocks: this is all part of the challenge of Rally Japan! I am pleased that he is enjoying himself, and I am sure that everybody is enjoying seeing the Swift Super 1600 as well. He needs to continue like this tomorrow and Saturday, to bring the car to the finish. If he concentrates carefully on doing this, I am sure he can have an impressive result."

Rallye Japan 2007 - Start:

Thousands of excited fans lined the road for the ceremonial start of this year's Rally Japan in Obihiro, Hokkaido, this evening. Just one Suzuki Swift Super 1600 is entered, for Estonian Urmo Aava who finished second in this year's Junior Championship. The Suzuki Swift has dominated the Junior Championship this year, with Swede P-G Andersson winning the series and Aava finishing as runner-up after a title showdown in Corsica two weeks ago.

Japan, round 14 of the World Rally Championship, will be a very different challenge - but it is an important event for Suzuki, in the manufacturer's homeland. The Japanese stages tend to be very fast and narrow, with some quick straights leading into tight 90-degree bends. This makes braking particularly difficult, and it also demands extremely accurate pace notes. The roads are often flanked by ditches, meaning that even a small deviation off the correct line can end in a costly accident.

Japan is also one of the most popular rounds of the World Rally Championship, as the crowds at the ceremonial start demonstrated. All the competitors had to do this evening was drive over a ramp and pose for photographs, but the real action starts at 0733 tomorrow (local time) with the first of 26 tough gravel stages totalling just over 350 competitive kilometres. The Suzuki Swift Super 1600 has demonstrated exemplary reliability all year, and Aava has consistently showed a rapid pace on all the events. Both will be needed for a strong performance on the tricky stages of Japan.


Urmo Aava (EE):
"It's a great honour for me to take part in my first Rally Japan with Suzuki. From what I could see in the recce the roads were extremely tough, but the weather actually looks like it will be a bit warmer compared to what everybody was expecting. The roads are very technical and precise, making this a big challenge for my co-driver as well as me, and I have been very impressed by the warm welcome we have received from the Japanese fans wherever we have been so far on this event. It's always fun to drive on a new rally: I think this will be a very big adventure for us!"


Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, Suzuki team principal:
"We want Urmo just to relax and enjoy this rally, to show all the people at home in Japan what our Swift Super 1600 - that was first and second in this year's Junior Championship - can do. Our home event is like a celebration for us, and we are all determined to make the most of it. I know that Urmo is a very quick driver on gravel, and I feel confident that he will get the job done for us. Good luck!"