Suzuki take positives from tough Jordan Rally

Event news:
Prior to the event, the third and final day of the Jordan Rally had been billed as the toughest. With the arduous Jordan River stage - at 41.45km, the longest of the event - run twice, it was not going to be a battle to the finish in the continued scorching temperatures. The day started well for P-G Andersson and his co-driver Jonas Andersson. They turned in an exceptional time on the Wadi Shueib test which followed, posting fourth fastest time in the SX4 WRC. Unfortunately, that was the last stage Andersson and the Suzuki would complete on this fifth round of the FIA World Rally Championship. Andersson slid off the road in the ensuing Jordan River stage and retired from the event. Andersson returned to the service park where he met His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan.

The Suzuki World Rally Team endured mixed fortunes in Jordan. Toni Gardemeister retired on the opening day when he was unlucky enough to have a stone hit the bottom of the car, damaging the sump. Andersson went off the road on day one, but bounced back with top 10 times through day two, only for the Swede to fall victim to the difficult road conditions for the second time this morning.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson): Andersson's Suzuki SX4 WRC ran without any technical faults through the final morning. The team had made no significant overnight changes to the set-up after the Swede's solid run through Saturday's eight stages. The sister SX4 WRC of Andersson's team-mate Toni Gardemeister did not re-start this morning.

Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "Of course I am disappointed not to have finished this event. You go to every rally wanting to get to the end; chasing the best possible result. Here I had a real feeling that we could get the SX4 WRC high up the order. I knew there would be a high rate of attrition on what's going to be one of the hottest rallies of the year, but I was really sad that we were one of the early victims. The good thing is that P-G has shown some pace yesterday, which is an indication of what the SX4 WRC is capable of."

P-G Andersson: "This is a really disappointing end to the event for me and for the team. I don't really understand what happened on stage 19 and how I ended up off the road. It had been going well for me. It was very loose, with a lot of gravel on the surface of the road, but we hadn't had a problem. We came into a slow left-hand bend, which led into a hairpin right. I had a half-spin after the left which dropped the front of the car down into the inside of the hairpin. The car went nose in. The rear wheels were still on the road. I put the car in reverse gear straight away, hoping it would reverse out, but the gradient was too steep. Jonas and I jumped out of the car to try and get some more people to help us. Only two people were around. We tried to lift the car out, but it was impossible. On the stage before we'd been fourth quickest, and I was really enjoying it. Obviously I didn't want to retire from the event, but it was an honour to ! meet His Majesty King Abdullah II. He was very interested to take a look at the SX4 WRC."

Team news:
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: "Our goal today was not to risk anything, but to bring the car home to the finish and build on the positive results for the SX4 WRC yesterday. Everything was looking good this morning, particularly the fourth fastest time in SS18. The circumstances surrounding P-G going off the road on the next stage are quite strange. I don't think he was taking risks or pushing too hard. We have seen all the way through this event how difficult this event has been. Many of the other drivers have been caught out by the stage conditions. I think the performance which the team has turned in has demonstrated the speed and the potential of the SX4 WRC. We have been able to take a lot of encouragement from this result. P-G was under a second per kilometre off the pace of the fastest car yesterday, which demonstrates what the Suzuki SX4 WRC is capable of."

Day 2: Suzuki and Andersson enjoy trouble-free day two in Jordan

P-G Andersson re-started the second day of Jordan Rally and set top 10 times on all but one of the day's eight stages in a solid display of consistent pace from the Swede. The double Junior Rally Champion's Suzuki SX4 WRC ran without any technical faults for the duration of the day, despite continued searing temperatures closing on 40 degrees beside the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth's surface.

Driver news:
P-G Andersson: "Today has been really good. I was a little bit steady with my pace after I had made a mistake yesterday - there was no way I wanted to do that again. When I came out of the first stage, I could see that my pace had been much too quick yesterday - I learned a great deal about driving on this surface today. The car has been very good. We had some small issues on the downshift, but that was really a minor transmission thing. I am pleased for the team and for myself that we have been able to come through today with some speed and no trouble. I had to think of today as a new day and forget about what happened yesterday, but it's a real shame - we could have had a good finish here without the problem on day one. Okay, that's the sport sometimes."

Team news:
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: "Today has been really encouraging for the team. You have to remember that these stages are very, very tough and the drivers are here for the first time. It's certainly not an easy event and running that bit further back on the road, P-G has been confronted by some fairly big rocks. But he and Jonas have come through all of that without any trouble. The car has performed really well all day - we haven't done anything to the car. We made some small adjustments to the settings at service, but they were about fine-tuning the car to the conditions, nothing else. It's been good to see the speed coming from the car. Now we're looking forward to tomorrow - although that's certain to be another big challenge, particularly the Jordan River stage."

Day 1: Tricky start for Suzuki in Jordan

In a day of searing heat alongside the Dead Sea, the Suzuki World Rally Team had a challenging start to the first ever World Rally Championship round in Jordan. Finland's Toni Gardemeister ended the opening test inside the top 10 positions and in a confident mood. Unfortunately for Suzuki, his team-mate P-G Andersson slipped off the road six kilometers into the Suwayma stage, undamaging his car but ending his participation in day one of the Jordan Rally. Andersson will return tomorrow, under the super rally regulations, with his SX4 WRC running again in perfect condition. Gardemeister remained in the top 10 for the next test, but was forced out of the rally after five kilometres of the third stage with a damaged sump.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.12 (Andersson): The Suzuki World Rally Team has been pleased to bring the SX4 WRC of P-G Andersson through a trouble-free day on one of the toughest ever rounds of the World Rally Championship. Andersson reported no problems on day two and was quick enough to post sixth fastest time in the penultimate test - the second run through Shuna, the longest stage of the day. Andersson's hopes of a top finish were blown when he slid off the road on the opening stage of the event, but after a strong day behind the wheel of the SX4 WRC, he is in a confident mood ahead of the final day of the inaugural Jordan Rally.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
The engine in Gardemeister's SX4 WRC suffered sufficient damage when a rock hit the sump, that running on the second day was not possible. Such were the rough conditions on the Middle Eastern roads, the Finn couldn't even remember where the impact had happened. Andersson's car was completely undamaged when it went off the road. The Swede actually managed to get the car back on the road himself, having located some pieces of wood to place under the wheels, allowing the car to reverse out of the ditch it had landed in. Unfortunately for the double Junior Rally Champion, he reached the end of the first stage out of time and was unable to continue in day one.

Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "I was happy with the first couple of stages. In some corners, we were going a little bit wide, but the times were quite okay. I thought this was going to be a good event for us. We had a real chance to get some good points here. I knew P-G had had a problem and I was thinking that we needed to make sure there was one SX4 at the finish, so I wasn't pushing very hard. I wasn't flat-out and didn't want to take the big risks. I don't know which stone it was that caused the problems - there were so many of them about! As soon as I heard the engine starting to sound like it wasn't right in SS3, I pulled over and switched it off. I am also upset for the team because I wanted to get a result for them on this rally. I came here to drive well and to compete with the other cars on even ground. I do believe we could have made a result, particularly when you look at how many of the cars are having problems in these really tough conditions."

P-G Andersson: "My problem came in a section about six kilometres into the stage. It was a left-hander going into a tighter right. I was too fast into the left and then couldn't gather the car for the next right. The car started to drift and then went off the road on the inside of the corner. The front was buried in some deep sand. A couple of people were there to help, but there was no way the car was coming out until I found some wood to go under the wheels. By the time I had done that and we got back on the road, we were OTL (Over Time Limit). I had a slow puncture from earlier in the stage, but the problem was my speed - not the tyre. It's really disappointing. I need to be in the car and driving stages right now, so there is a lot of frustration when this happens. We all want to show what the SX4 WRC can do."

Team news:
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: "Toni's problem was unfortunate. It's very unlucky for the rock to hit precisely the wrong part of the bottom of the car and to cause a problem like this. But this has happened to Toni and cost him and the team dearly. We all feel for Toni and Tomi - they had made good times on the first two stages. This is the drivers' first time on this event, it's not like they have many years of pace notes to start with as a reference. Instead they made notes for the first time. P-G seems to have been caught out by the difference in the recce and rally speed and the unknown factor of what the surface could do. Many of the other drivers have returned to the service park with similar stories. I think it's just unfortunate that P-G has been caught out by this, and both P-G and the team have paid a heavy price. His SX4 WRC was undamaged in the incident and is running perfectly, so he will be ready to re-start tomorrow."