Suzuki takes away valuable lessons from a rain-swept Argentina

The SX4 WRC of P-G Andersson has scored a manufacturers' point for Suzuki after an extremely challenging event featuring some of the worst conditions in recent memory. Just three stages made up the final day, but two of them were the most legendary and difficult of the whole event: Giulio Cesare and El Condor. These two stages reach an altitude of more than 2000 metres through the foothills of the Andes. There is often dense fog, and huge rocks that can catch out the unwary.

In these challenging conditions, P-G Andersson set an eighth-fastest time - beating many more experienced competitors and hinting at the potential of the SX4 WRC on a clean run with no problems. The Swede's visibility was hampered through the El Condor stage as his windscreen misted up in the damp conditions, but he eventually finished the rally to score a precious manufacturers' point for Suzuki. Toni Gardemeister re-started the final day in order to rack up some test kilometres but unfortunately he was not able to make the finish.

This year's Rally Argentina - which took place in the southern hemisphere's learly autumn - presented the crews with an unprecedented range of weather conditions, meaning that only eight of the original 14 World Rally Car starters made the finish.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister) and n.12 (Andersson):
Both drivers experimented with set-ups on the soft and wet stages, concentrating on learning as much as possible for the future. The first day of Andersson's rally was halted by a turbo boost pressure sensor failure, while a suspension breakage stopped his consistent run on day two. He got to the end of the final day with no major problems.
Gardemeister had a reliable run on the opening day before hitting a rock that was on the racing line in the afternoon. He re-joined for day two but was held back by a combination of hydraulic and electronic problems that prevented him from completing the leg. The Finn managed to complete most of the stages over the three days of the rally and has acquired some valuable information to help the SX4 WRC's development.
The Suzuki SX4 WRCs arrived in Argentina with some bodywork modifications to cope with the watersplashes, as well as a revised head gasket. Both of these evolutions worked successfully, and the team was able to continue its testing programme on what is still only the fourth event of the SX4 WRC's first full season.

Driver news:
P-G Andersson: "I'm pleased to get to the end of what has been a very tough rally for us. I'm also pleased that we have scored a manufacturers' point for Suzuki, although I would have been even happier if we had been able to score some drivers' points for ourselves as well! We had a good solid run through the Giulio Cesare stage this morning, without pushing too hard, and that indicates the sort of thing we can do when everything is working well. We just have to treat the problems we have experienced here as opportunities to improve and move on. Now we will be working hard in preparation for the next event, Jordan, which is brand new. Nobody starts with an advantage in terms of experience there, so I hope we can do well."

Toni Gardemeister: "We've had a few problems on this event, but the conditions have been even tougher than we expected. The surfaces were extremely slippery, and it was very easy to make a mistake. We just tried to keep the car on the road as much as possible and get to the end. Unfortunately we weren't quite able to manage that, but we learnt several important lessons along the way and we have a very clear idea of the areas in which we can improve."

Team news:
Nobuhiro Tajima, Suzuki World Rally Team principal: "It's clear that we have a lot of work still ahead of us, and although we are very disappointed we have also been quite unlucky here. The boost pressure sensor that stopped P-G on the opening day is a very small component, and it was very unusual for Toni to find a rock that was right on the racing line. We seem to have solved some of the reliability issues that have affected us in the past, but we need to keep working hard in order to solve all the issues we encounter. Only when we have achieved this will we be able to reach our eventual target of competing regularly amongst the frontrunners."

Day 2: Suzuki climbs tricky learning curve in Argentina

It has been another tough day for the Suzuki World Rally Team in Argentina, the fourth round of this year's World Rally Championship. The mud of the opening day continued to characterise the second leg of the all-gravel event, putting traction and grip at a premium in the slippery conditions.

Both Suzuki SX4 WRCs re-started day two under the super rally system, with P-G Andersson setting times within the top 10 throughout most of the day. Unfortunately, his consistent run was halted by a suspension breakage on the rough surfaces of SS14.

Toni Gardemeister had an assortment of different problems throughout the day: in the morning he had only two-wheel drive, while a hydraulic glitch deprived him of the centre differential, semi-automatic gearshift and power steering during the afternoon. He chose to retire after SS15 in order to re-join the final day under the super rally system and be sure of reaching the finish of the event.

. However, the Rally Argentina's rough terrain eventually forced his retirement from the second day on SS14 in the afternoon.
Toni Gardemeister had to battle with drivetrain and hydraulic problems, but the aim is for both cars to re-join the event under the super rally system tomorrow in order to complete as many test kilometres as possible.
The savage conditions of Argentina have taken their toll on the entire field, with several of the top runners forced onto the sidelines.

Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "We've not had an easy run of things today. We were just a few hundred metres into the first stage this morning when we lost drive at the front. We obviously then lost a lot of time as we had only two-wheel drive. That problem was fixed at service, but next we had another issue with the hydraulic system. We have to remember that this is just the fourth rally of our first full season with the SX4 WRC, so it's normal to expect a few problems. The important thing is just to try and fix them and move on. Hopefully we can have a good day tomorrow, and show a little bit more of our potential."

P-G Andersson: "Conditions have been extremely tough throughout this rally: it's probably the biggest challenge of the year we have faced so far. I enjoyed the morning stages: we had no real problems with the car, although I am feeling my inexperience a little bit. The roads were even rougher on the second passage through the stages in the afternoon, and unfortunately we broke the suspension. That's life, but we'll start again tomorrow with the aim of learning as much as possible."

Team news:
Nobuhiro Tajima, Suzuki World Rally Team principal: "This has been a very hard day for us. I feel very sorry for both drivers. Hopefully we can get everything fixed to ensure that they have a trouble-free day tomorrow. It is bad luck for Toni and P-G: with the conditions as rough as they are, he is one of many drivers that have retired with suspension breakages. We need to cover as many kilometres as possible, so we want to send both cars out under the super rally system tomorrow. It is only by fixing all the problems as they arise that we will improve. Of course the road to success is a difficult and challenging one - but we already knew that before we embarked on our first full season this year."

Day 1: Mixed fortunes for Suzuki in Argentina

The Suzuki World Rally Team has had a day of mixed fortunes on the opening leg of the Rally Argentina, round four of the World Rally Championship. Young Swede P-G Andersson was forced to retire just four kilometres from the opening stage, as a result of a boost pressure sensor failure. By contrast, Toni Gardemeister enjoyed a reliable run to place his SX4 WRC within the point-scoring positions for the bulk of the day. Unfortunately, during the very last proper stage, he could not avoid hitting a rock on the racing line - which led to his retirement from the leg.
Conditions on the Rally Argentina were atrocious in the morning, with heavy rain, thick fog and plenty of mud on the road. As more cars passed through the stages the surfaces broke up, making life extremely difficult for Gardemeister, who started 10th on the road.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister) and n.12 (Andersson): Suzuki has never tested in Argentina with the World Rally Car previously, so the opening day was a chance for the team to get to grips with the extremely tricky conditions. Gardemeister refined some suspension settings at midday service in order to improve the handling on the soft stages, and he lost a bit of time in the morning as a broken exhaust prevented him from hearing his pace notes properly.

In the afternoon he felt more confident in slightly better conditions, and climbed to a solid seventh place overall before hitting the rock 10 kilometres into SS8. The impact broke the front suspension, and Toni was not able to complete the stage. Nonetheless, he will re-start tomorrow under the Super Rally system, with a 10-minute penalty for not completing two stages. He still retains 14th place overall, and is currently only two and a half minutes off the top 10. P-G will also re-start tomorrow in order to continue Suzuki's all-important testing programme and learn as much as possible about these specialised gravel roads. The faulty sensor - a minor but crucial component - was rapidly fixed, and his SX4 WRC will be at full health tomorrow.

Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "Both myself and P-G have actually been very unlucky on this event. In my case I saw a big rock right on the racing line, which is unusual, and I could not help hitting it. Without that problem we would have got to the end of the day safely in seventh, with some good chances of finishing in the top six. Everything is not yet lost though, and we can still come back and achieve something from this event. The conditions today were as difficult as I have ever known them: the surfaces were really slippery and we were struggling for grip all the time. It could be the same again tomorrow, so we have to just try and stay out of trouble and move up the order as best as we can."

P-G Andersson: "Actually what halted us was a very trivial problem, but it meant that we could not do any of the stages today and that was very frustrating. Having said that, I have already drawn a line under today: my rally starts tomorrow. The most important thing now is for me to have time in the car and by the end of the rally I hope we will have achieved that and learned some useful things. It's good that the weather is so bad: it means that we can test the car under extreme conditions."

Team news:
Nobuhiro Tajima, Suzuki World Rally Team principal: "We knew from the very beginning that this was going to be a tough rally, and this has proved to be the case. Sometimes you learn lessons the hard way. At least now we are in a position to re-start with both cars tomorrow and continue to increase our knowledge of this event and these very difficult conditions. Toni proved that we had the pace to run comfortably within the points places today under extremely tricky circumstances: now we have to build on this base in order to improve the performance and the reliability. There is still a long way to go, and there are many opportunities ahead of us."