RALLY OF TURKEY – LEG THREE: SS17-19 Leg information: Stages: 3 (50.96kms competitive total) Surface: Gravel Weather: Warm and dry Suzuki driver P-G Andersson has been deprived of his second Junior World Rally Championship title by a decision to exclude him from victory on the Rally of Turkey.

The event stewards have claimed that a mechanic was assisting P-G with some work under the bonnet in a zone where service was not allowed. However this was not the case, and Suzuki has consequently decided to appeal against the exclusion. Nonetheless, the provisional winner is still a Suzuki driver – Urmo Aava – and there are two Suzukis on the podium! In total, a Suzuki set 11 fastest stage times. Suzuki Swift driver Guy Wilks also finished in the points, after a dramatic rally that the Englishman led on the opening stages.


News from P–G:

P-G Andersson (1st in JWRC after SS19): “What can I say? I’m very disappointed because the exclusion is not fair and based on information that is not true. I was checking the engine before the superspecial on Saturday night, and I was doing this on my own without any assistance. A mechanic is allowed to be there to help change the light pod and that was all that he did. So of course we will appeal this incorrect decision. I wasn’t expecting to win the event after our problems on the opening day – I was just aiming to get back onto the podium. But anything can happen on the Junior World Rally Championship! We had a big scare on the penultimate stage of today with a puncture, but we just concentrated on getting the car safely to the finish.”

News from Guy:

Guy Wilks (5th in JWRC after SS19): “First of all I’d like to say that I feel very sorry for P-G, who deserves to win here. From our point of view, it was a tough rally that was obviously compromised by our roll on the second day. The final day was all about getting the car to the finish in the best position we could, so we were able to set a few fastest stage times and take as many points as possible. Now we look forward to my home rally in Great Britain – I’ll be aiming to win there!”

News from Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, team principal:

“Many congratulations to P-G for a fantastic drive in Turkey. I’m very disappointed about the exclusion, and of course I support completely the decision to appeal against it. I hope that this story will have a happy ending. Leaving that aside, I am pleased that despite the incredibly tough conditions, which included rain, mud and even hail, our cars were fantastically reliable from start to finish. The team did a great job, and I very much hope everybody will soon be rewarded for it….

Junior World Rally Championship final classification, Rally of Turkey:

1 Urmo Aava (Suzuki Swift) 4h02m06.5s
2 Conrad Rautenbach (Renault Clio) +30.7s
3 Jozef Beres (Suzuki Ignis) +39.5s
4 Guy Wilks (Suzuki Swift) +2m10.1s
5 Kris Meeke (Citroen C2) +3m14.4s
6 Martin Prokop (Citroen C2) +5m48.5s

RALLY OF TURKEY – LEG TWO: SS10-16

Leg information:
Stages: 7 (147.11kms competitive total) Surface: Gravel Weather: Damp in morning, intermittently sunny during the afternoon

News from P–G:

P-G Andersson (1st in JWRC after SS16): “I always knew that things could change quickly in the JWRC, but this has probably been the most dramatic example yet! After losing time with a puncture yesterday, I just concentrated on keeping everything clean today and not making any mistakes, in order to give myself the best possible chance of winning the championship. The car has been perfectly reliable all day, despite some extreme conditions: wet weather, bright sunshine, and even some traces of snow! I can’t help thinking about the title, but that is not going to distract me.”

News from Guy:

Guy Wilks (5th in JWRC after SS16): “It all happened for us today. We had a front-left puncture on the first stage that we were forced to stop and change, which cost us nearly two minutes. That still left us in the lead, but we rolled on SS13 after tripping over some deep ruts in a corner. Some marshals pushed us back onto our wheels, but we then had a rear puncture due to the bodywork rubbing against the tyre. The main thing is that we managed to get the car back to service, where our mechanics did an absolutely fantastic job to put the car back together. I’m not too disheartened as we are still in fifth place, and as we saw today, absolutely anything can still happen.”

News from Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, team principal:

“After another dramatic day, P-G is actually in a position to win the championship here in Turkey if the results stay as they are. This is unlikely though, as things rarely stand still in the Junior World Rally Championship! The only thing we can control is our own performance, so our drivers need to stay very concentrated on the last day…”

RALLY OF TURKEY – LEG ONE: SS1-9

Leg information:
Stages: 9 (152.94 kms competitive total), Surface: Gravel, Weather: Strong rain and mud, drying out in afternoon

Heavy rain forced the cancellation of three stages on the Rally of Turkey’s opening leg, with yet another stage shortened by 10 kilometres. Suzuki driver Guy Wilks leads at the end of the first day, while his team mate P-G Andersson is seventh after a puncture. A Suzuki Swift set four fastest times on the six stages that were eventually run, and at the end of a very close leg one there were five Suzukis in the top eight!

News from Guy: Guy Wilks (1st in JWRC after SS9): “The conditions today were absolutely dreadful, but the main thing was not to let that get to you – it’s the same for everyone. My plan was to drive at a comfortable pace and stay out of trouble. Thankfully we managed to stick to that all day and we had no real dramas. However, Kris Meeke’s Citroen was not far behind us for most of the day, so we could not relax. Now he’s had a problem so the pressure is slightly off. I’m happy with our pace and very pleased with the car, which has been fast and reliable. Tomorrow, I’m going to stay at the same rhythm.”

News from P–G:

P-G Andersson (7th in JWRC after SS9): “These have probably been the most tricky conditions I have ever driven in. In the morning, on SS3, we ran wide and bounced off a rock face. There was a bit of bodywork damage but more seriously it bent a steering arm. It took more time to fix in service than we expected, so we also collected 50 seconds of road penalties. That was OK, but I made a mistake on SS6 and picked up a puncture after I clipped the side of a bridge. We lost about two minutes, so my aim now is to climb back to a podium place by the end of the rally.”

News from Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima, team principal:

“We’ve had some exceptionally bad conditions at the start of this event that nobody could have predicted. Despite this, our car and our drivers have stood up to the challenge extremely well. Guy has been a model of speed and consistency, demonstrating that he can drive with his head as well as his right foot. Unfortunately P-G has made a couple of mistakes, but this is easy to do. The weather is likely to remain unpredictable for the rest of the rally, so we must be careful…