Success for Burkart
and Suzuki on opening round of 2009 JWRC!
Suzuki has proved to
be the most successful manufacturer on the
opening round of the 2009 Junior World Rally
Championship in Ireland, thanks to a comfortable
win for German driver Aaron Burkart, driving
a Suzuki Swift Super 1600. As well as claiming
victory on the season-opener, Suzuki also
finished third and fourth in the class thanks
to the Swift Super 1600s of Simone Bertolotti
and Yoann Bonato.
This ensures that Suzuki
driver Burkart now has the lead of the title
race heading into the next round of the Junior
World Rally Championship: the Cyprus Rally
from March 13-15, which in an innovative break
from recent tradition is run on both gravel
and asphalt.
About Rally Ireland:
Rally Ireland was run as the very first event
of the 2009 Junior World Rally Championship,
featuring stages both in Northern Ireland
(which belongs to the United Kingdom) and
also the Republic of Ireland (which is an
independent state). It was the first time
in the 30-year history of the World Rally
Championship that the series had started anywhere
other than in Monte Carlo. Rally Ireland is
based in the town of Sligo, to the north-west
of the island, near the Atlantic coast. Ireland
features fast and bumpy narrow asphalt stages,
which are highly specialised. Adding to the
challenge are uncertain weather conditions,
with heavy rain a common feature of the climate
and plenty of mud and gravel on the road.
This year’s event was no exception,
with major downpours over the opening two
days making conditions even more treacherous
than usual. The action took in 19 all-asphalt
special stages totalling 366.75 competitive
kilometres.
 |
About the Junior World Rally Championship:
The Junior World Rally Championship –
which runs over eight rounds of the World
Rally Championship season – was
designed as a natural stepping stone to
the main series. Previous JWRC champions
include five-time World Rally Champion
Sebastien Loeb and former Suzuki factory
driver P-G Andersson (who won the JWRC
twice). T
he Junior World Rally Championship is
the world’s premier motorsport category
for B-segment cars, often described as
‘hot hatchbacks’, such as
the Suzuki Swift. Suzuki is one of the
most successful manufacturers on the Junior
World Rally Championship, having claimed
the title in 2004 and 2007.
|
Suzuki entries on Rally
Ireland:
Four Suzukis took the ceremonial start of Rally
Ireland, from Enniskillen town centre on Thursday
night. There were three Suzuki Swift Super 1600s,
for Aaron Burkart/Michael Kolbach (number 31),
Simone Bertolotti/Luca Celestini (number 33)
and Yoann Bonato/Benjamin Boulloud (number 35).
In addition, there was a Group N Suzuki Swift
Sport for local crew Ross Forde/Arron Forde
(number 60).
News from Aaron Burkart
(D):
Burkart had a fault-free rally on his first
World Championship event at the wheel of the
Suzuki Swift Super 1600. Despite the atrocious
conditions, he made the correct tyre choices
throughout all three days and his Suzuki Sport
Europe-run Swift S1600 enjoyed perfect reliability
to claim a memorable victory. He ended an exciting
opening day just 1.9 seconds off the class lead,
and then went in front at the end of day two.
On the final day, he was able to control his
pace all the way to the finish.
“I never expected
to win such a tricky event, and I’m absolutely
delighted. I drove on the Galway International
Rally in Ireland with the Swift S1600 recently
in order to gain experience of the car and the
conditions, so I had some idea of what to expect.
The biggest difficulty was coping with all the
standing water – sometimes the car was
completely out of control – but I have
to say that the Swift is really stable under
these difficult conditions and it always gives
the driver a lot of confidence.”
News
from Simone Bertolotti (I):
Bertolotti’s only setback on his
first experience of Rally Ireland was
a couple of punctures that cost him time
but fortunately not too many places. Even
though he had no familiarity with driving
in torrential rain, he steered a sensible
course to record his best-ever finish
in the Junior World Rally Championship.
By the end of the opening day he was already
fourth and he gradually improved his speed
over the remaining two days to claim the
final JWRC podium place, having enjoyed
perfect reliability. |
|
“I’m very happy.
I liked the rally a lot, even though it was
one of the most difficult events I have ever
contested. Together with my co-driver I concentrated
on keeping my driving clean and steering clear
of trouble. This tactic worked well and the
result is my very first podium, which is fantastic
both for me and for Suzuki. Now we have to keep
working hard on our speed and make sure that
we keep improving. We still have a lot to learn
and there is plenty more to come.”
News from Yoann Bonato (F)
Bonato is the reigning FFSA Suzuki Rallye Cup
winner, but this was his first Junior World
Rally Championship event at the wheel of the
Suzuki Swift Super 1600. The talented Frenchman
suffered a setback on the opening afternoon
of the rally, when he skated off the slippery
road and lost some time. As he tried to regain
the stage, his car got stuck in a ditch. Nonetheless,
Bonato showed some impressive speed, winning
a stage and climbing as high as second overall
on the opening morning.
“It’s
not been a completely perfect rally for us,
but in the end we have finished fourth and taken
some good points so it’s not so bad. In
this championship, scoring points is the main
thing. On the last day I was feeling ill, so
we just had a quiet finish to the rally. It’s
a pity that we lost time on the opening day:
when we went off we thought that there would
be a quick way to get back on the road, but
unfortunately our car got stuck in a ditch.
I’ve got a good feeling with the Swift
now, which is very important.”
Final results
1 A. BURKART Suzuki Swift Super 1600 3:16:41.5
2 M. PROKOP Citroen C2 S1600 +47.3
3 S. BERTOLOTTI Suzuki Swift Super 1600 +9:00.1
4 Y. BONATO Suzuki Swift Super 1600 +13:06.2
5 K. ABBRING Renault Clio R3 +17:38.0
6 L. GRIOTTI Renault Clio R3 +27:08.4
|
