Place
Two and Three for the Suzuki Drivers
Suzuki Swift Super 1600 drivers Jaan Molder
and Michal Kosciuszko have finished the Rally
Mexico, round one of the Junior World Rally
Championship, in second and third places respectively.
In a remarkable display of consistency and reliability,
the Suzuki drivers occupied two of the three
podium places from the very beginning of the
rally. As a result, they are now also second
and third in the championship. Neither of the
Suzukis had any major problems throughout the
three days of the rally, despite tough and arid
conditions. Neither Jaan nor Michal had ever
contested Rally Mexico before, so they chose
a cautious and risk-free approach in order to
be sure of making the finish. Nonetheless, they
still managed to enjoy a spirited battle amongst
themselves, swapping positions twice on the
second day of the event.
In the end Jaan ended up a minute and a half
ahead of his Suzuki Sport Europe team mate,
who in turn was nearly three minutes ahead of
the next-placed Junior World Championship competitor.
The final day of the all-gravel rally was cut
short after SS18 was cancelled due to spectator
overcrowding. The Suzuki drivers drove sensibly
to the finish, and they are now looking forward
to the next round in Jordan in April, where
they will be joined by a third Swift in the
hands of German driver Florian Niegel.
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News from Jaan Molder (Suzuki Swift
n.32):
"It's been a very demanding rally,
and I'm pleased to get to the end. A second-place
finish is a very good way to start the
year. The car has been reliable from the
very start of the rally, and after I started
today with a minute over Michal it was
just a question of preserving that advantage
to the finish. Now we have to analyse
where we are losing time in order to improve
for the future." |
News
from Michal Kosciuszko (Suzuki Swift n.35):
"I've enjoyed this rally a great deal,
and I'm very happy to be on the podium. Obviously
I would have preferred to have been second like
I was yesterday afternoon, but then Jaan got
past me again and it was too risky to try and
close the gap. My aim from the beginning was
to make a solid start to the championship and
I am very satisfied that we have done that.
In Jordan, I'll be aiming for another podium."
News from Nobuhiro 'Monster'
Tajima, Suzuki World Rally Team principal:
"Congratulations to both drivers, who have
driven sensibly but quickly in these extremely
tough conditions at high altitude. They have
followed instructions perfectly, and the result
is that we now have two Suzuki Swifts on the
Junior World Championship podium, which is a
great result. Now we are eagerly awaiting the
next Junior round in Jordan, where we will have
three Suzukis in the battle.
Day 2:
After an exciting battle that lasted throughout
day two, the Suzuki Swift Super 1600s of Jaan
Molder and Michal Kosciuszko are still second
and third in the Junior World Rally Championship
classification. Jaan started the day half a
minute ahead of his Suzuki Sport Europe team
mate, but he lost time in the soft and sandy
conditions of SS10 - letting Michal past. The
positions were reversed again on SS12, when
Jaan claimed second place once more. The 20
year-old Estonian kept his place to the end
of the day, despite clipping a rock in the afternoon,
and he heads into the final leg of the rally
one and a half minutes behind the leader Sebastien
Ogier.
Both
cars had no major problems during the morning
- although Michal had a particularly spectacular
jump on SS11, captured by several photographers!
On SS13 in the afternoon his car started
to broken exhaust the tough conditions and
he lost some power.
Nonetheless the 22 year-old Pole ends the
day in a safe third place behind Jaan, with
more than a five-minute margin over the
next Junior competitor. Tomorrow's action
consists of just three gravelly stages before
the finish back in Leon at 13:00 local time. |
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News
from Jaan Molder (Suzuki Swift n.32):
"I've enjoyed today and I'm happy to be
back in second place. We are a minute behind
the leader now so we will keep pushing at the
same pace tomorrow: if he has a problem or a
puncture we need to be close enough to take
advantage. I felt that I did not have enough
traction in the sandy stages this morning, and
I made some set-up changes at midday service
to make the car softer. The afternoon was a
lot better, although we clipped a rock that
knocked the steering out of line slightly."
News from Michal Kosciuszko
(Suzuki Swift n.35):
"The jump on SS11 was really spectacular:
I braked a bit too late and the car went flying
- I was worried that we would crash. On the
next stage I didn't feel so confident and Jaan
got past me: I was probably too cautious. Then
the car overheated on SS12, which cost us a
bit of power, and on the last proper stage of
the day I didn't push hard enough again. It's
better to be safe than sorry and we are still
in a good position. My aim was always to be
at the finish tomorrow to score points."
News from Nobuhiro 'Monster'
Tajima, Suzuki World Rally Team principal:
"Both Jaan and Michal have done a good
job today although they have each had their
adventures, which goes to show how tough this
rally is. Tomorrow there are just three stages,
but they are sure to be covered in a lot of
gravel so punctures are a big risk. The drivers
must make sure that they take no chances that
compromise their prospects of reaching the finish.
So far they have driven very well, so I have
every confidence that they will carry on in
this productive way."
Day 1:
The Suzuki Swift Super 1600s of Jaan Molder
and Michal Kosciuszko have ended the day second
and third respectively in the Junior World Rally
Championship classification. Despite tricky
conditions on the Mexican stages - which were
entirely new to both drivers - neither of them
had any major problems or dramas during the
135-kilometre long day.
Running after the World Rally Cars, the Junior
competitors had to avoid some big rocks that
had been pulled onto the racing line by previous
competitors. On these challenging surfaces,
both Jaan and Michal chose to drive carefully
within their limits, in order to acclimatise
to their cars and the conditions on this opening
round of the Junior World Rally Championship.
On SS6 both drivers had very minor incidents:
Jaan lost about 10 seconds when an alternator
warning light came on, whilst Michal hit a rock
with the rear wheel - luckily without any consequences.
Jaan is now just under a minute behind the leader,
Sebastien Ogier, while Michal is 25 seconds
behind Jaan.
News from Jaan Molder
(Suzuki Swift n.32):
"It's been a very good day for us with
no problems at all. We only had a very minor
thing with the alternator on a hairpin in SS6.
Apart from that I've just been concentrating
on keeping a clean and tidy line. The Swift
feels very good to drive, and it's clearly had
some more development compared to the car I
drove last year."
News from Michal Kosciuszko
(Suzuki Swift n.35):
"I drove carefully today; maybe a bit too
carefully in places. Everything went well but
I didn't really feel at ease in SS2, which was
repeated as SS5. Maybe my notes were not quite
right or something like that. The stages are
very beautiful and I'm really enjoying them
but I need to push a bit harder tomorrow."
News from Nobuhiro 'Monster'
Tajima, Suzuki World Rally Team principal:
"The Junior drivers have followed instructions
perfectly so far, to get to the finish without
taking any unnecessary risks. I hope they can
see now how this cautious approach pays off.
Relatively speaking the gaps between the top
three drivers are very close. However, each
driver must just focus on doing their own rally
and steering clear of punctures rather than
chasing the person in front. The best way to
learn is by gradually increasing the pace."
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