Suzuki
on the podium in the Junior World Rally Championship
Suzuki on the podium
in the Junior World Rally ChampionshipAt the
end of the final event of the 2009 Junior
World Rally Championship, the Rallye de España
from October 1-4, the Suzuki Swift Super 1600
has not only finished on the podium, but also
claimed two of the top three places in the
overall championship standings.
Italian driver Simone
Bertolotti was second in Spain, to claim sixth
in the championship standings at the end of
the year with the same number of points as
the fifth-placed finisher. However, two wins
earlier this season – in Portugal and
Argentina – have given the absent Michal
Kosciuszko second place in the final Junior
World Championship rankings. The Polish driver,
who chose not to nominate the Rallye de España
as one of his scoring rounds, just missed
out on the title by four points this year.
Occupying third place in the championship
at the end of the year is Germany’s
Aaron Burkart, who was fifth in Spain.
 |
As has been the case throughout the
year, the Suzuki Swift Super 1600 was
right on the pace from the start to
the finish of the Rallye de España,
demonstrating an impressive level of
reliability on the fastest asphalt event
of the year.
All three of the Suzuki cars that started
the event finished it, including one
example of the Group N Suzuki Swift
Sport. Temperatures were warm on all
three days of the Spanish event, peaking
at 30 degrees Centigrade. |
.About the the
Rallye de España:
The Rallye de España is characterised
by wide and sweeping asphalt roads,which make
the rally more like a circuit racing. Pace
notes are extremely important on this event,
in order to describe the quickest racing line
through all the corners and where it is safe
to cut. For the two-wheel drive cars, such
as the Suzuki Swift Super 1600, asphalt rallies
are even more challenging because the four-wheel
drive cars that run at the front of the field
leave plenty of mud and gravel on the road
while cutting corners. With less traction
than their four-wheel drive equivalents, total
commitment is needed to drive Super 1600 cars
quickly on sealed surfaces.
This year’s Rallye
de España, based once more in Salou
to the south of Barcelona, adopted exactly
the same route as it did in 2008. In total,
crews tackled 353.62 competitive kilometres
divided over three days and 18 sealed-surface
stages.
.Suzuki
entries on the Rallye de España:
Two Suzuki Swift Super 1600s took the
ceremonial start of the Rallye de España
in Salou town centre last Thursday night.
First off the Junior World Rally Championship
start ramp was the Suzuki of Aaron Burkart/Michael
Kolbach (number 31).
He was followed off the ramp by the
similar car of Simone Bertolotti/Luca
Celestini (number 33). Also competing
in Spain was the Group N Suzuki Swift
Sport of Italian driver Paolo Semeraro
(number 117).
|
|
News from Simone
Bertolotti (I): Simone, who began rallying
in 2003, finished third in Spain to match his
best-ever JWRC result, scored in Ireland at
the beginning of the season. He had no problems
at all throughout the event and was challenging
for a podium from the very start. Throughout
the season he has shown admirable consistency,
finishing in the points on every event that
he has entered and claiming two podiums.
“I’ve really
enjoyed this rally and we’ve had no major
problems at all from start to finish: our Suzuki
is fantastic to drive! I’ve been impressed
throughout the season by both the car’s
performance and its reliability. This is very
important, as my objective at the start of the
year was simply to gain experience, which is
what I need to improve my skills. To come away
from the season in the top six of the championship
and with two podiums is a great achievement,
and I look forward to capitalising on all the
lessons I have learned next year.”
News from Aaron Burkart (D): Burkart
– the winner of the JWRC’s opening
round in Ireland, which was also the last event
held on asphalt – charged quickly onto
the podium in Spain at the end of the opening
day, despite a huge moment on the first stage.
He was forced to withdraw on the second stage
of day two, when he encountered a suspension
problem. He re-started under the final day under
the SupeRally rules to record a fifth place
finish, having run safely to the end.
“Finishing
in the top three of any championship is a good
result, so I can look back on a very positive
season after my first year with Suzuki. Rallye
de España was not a great event for us
as we started with a huge moment on the very
first stage when I was convinced that we would
roll. On the second day, we had the problem
with the suspensions. Our priority on the final
day was to get the car to the finish and score
some points: thankfully we succeeded and we
were able to finish a successful year on a high
note.”
.2009 JWRC Rd.8 : Rallye de España,
final results
1 36 H. WEIJS Jr. Citroen C2 Super 1600 3:40:35.5
0.0
2 33 S. BERTOLOTTI Suzuki Swift Super 1600 3:45:24.6
+4:49.1
3 59 J. MARTI Renault Clio R3 3:46:58.3 +6:22.8
4 37 K. ABBRING Renault Clio R3 3:55:38.1 +15:02.6
5 31 A. BURKART Suzuki Swift Super 1600 4:06:48.5
+26:13.0
|
