Suzuki concludes reliable run in Germany with a manufacturer point

The final day of the Rallye Deutschland - arguably the toughest asphalt round of the entire World Rally Championship - saw both Suzuki SX4 WRCs make it safely to the finish in Trier, having enjoyed a reliable run throughout the 352 competitive kilometres that made up the event. Day three consisted of five stages, concluding with a spectator superspecial around the Porta Nigra in the centre of Trier before the final finish podium. The roads were more similar today to the classic asphalt rallies of Spain and Corsica that will come later in the season, providing Suzuki with a valuable testing opportunity through the fast and flowing stages.

At the end of the rally, 10th place for Toni Gardemeister earned Suzuki a precious manufacturers' point, while P-G Andersson finished 15th overall after losing time yesterday following an impact with the side of the road. More importantly, the Rallye Deutschland allowed Suzuki to prepare for the forthcoming asphalt rounds that characterise the end of the season and carry out some useful test work. With the last outing on sealed surfaces having taken place seven months ago at the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally (in which P-G Andersson scored a point) both the team and the drivers learnt a lot about the latest development of the SX4 WRC in Germany. A reliable run throughout the rally - which continued uninterrupted over the 85 competitive kilometres of the final day - underlined the work that has taken place to improve the car's consistency as well as its performance, and the Suzuki World Rally Team is now upbeat heading to the next round on the other side of the world in New Zealand in two weeks' time.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson): The drivers refined the asphalt set-up on the car throughout the three days of the event, helped by the fact that the Rallye Deutschland contains a wide variety of different sealed surfaces. In particular, there was plenty of useful progress made on the suspension settings of the SX4 WRC. The final day saw both drivers concentrate on bringing their SX4 WRCs to the finish. Temperatures were slightly cooler than they had been on the previous days, so both cars used Pirelli's soft compound rubber.

Once more neither car encountered any mechanical problems on the final day. Both drivers were able to set some competitive stage times, with Gardemeister going seventh quickest on SS15: a positive sign for the future.

Driver news:

Toni Gardemeister: "I've been happy with the car on this rally. This is the second event in a row where we have had virtually no problems and a clean run to the finish. The reliability is at a good level now, which means that we can begin to work more on the speed of the car. If you compare the amount of running our car has had with the other WRC cars, we are making quite good progress. This is probably the most difficult of all the asphalt rallies, so to come away with a manufacturers' point is a good result. I'm feeling reasonably optimistic for the other asphalt rounds in Spain and Corsica now.
Today I really enjoyed myself."

P-G Andersson: "We had no problems today: we just concentrated on taking it steady and getting to the finish. The rally was a very valuable experience for both me and the team, but I suffered a bit from inexperience. I haven't driven on this event since 2005 and not on asphalt since January and this is the sort of rally where you need to have full confidence in order to push to the maximum. It's a pity that we hit the side of the road yesterday and broke a driveshaft: without that problem I think we could have been in the top 10. It's been a very useful three days and we've taken away a lot of information that will be extremely useful to us for the future."

Team news:
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: "This has been a very positive event for us and it's great to have two cars at the finish of such a tough rally. The consistency we have demonstrated here shows that all the hard work is paying off, and puts us in a strong position to build on our solid progress throughout the remaining rounds of the championship, on both gravel and asphalt."

Final result:
1 Sebastien Loeb 3:26:19.7 0.0
2 Daniel Sordo 3:27:07.4 +47.7
3 Francois Duval 3:27:39.7 +1:20.0
4 Mikko Hirvonen 3:27:49.8 +1:30.1
5 Petter Solberg 3:28:55.0 +2:35.3
6 Chris Atkinson 3:31:05.6 +4:45.9
7 Henning Solberg 3:31:55.9 +5:36.2
8 Urmo Aava 3:31:57.5 +5:37.8
10 Toni Gardemeister 3:33:36.5 +7:16.8
15 Per-Gunnar Andersson 3:40:37.9 +14:18.2

Day 2: Suzuki just outside the points after strong second day in Germany

The second day of the Rallye Deutschland is renowned as one of the toughest days on the entire World Rally Championship calendar, with the crews facing the fearsome Baumholder stages made up of fast concrete roads through a military camp. No mistakes go unpunished, as the stages are flanked by imposing 'hinkelsteins' - large stone blocks - and there are also many high kerbs. Despite all these hazards, the Suzuki SX4 WRC of Toni Gardemeister returns to parc fermé in the historic city of Trier this evening holding a solid 10th overall, and he is well-placed to take advantage of any opportunities to record another points-scoring finish tomorrow.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
Both drivers continued to work on the asphalt set-up of the car, not having competed on a sealed-surface event since Monte Carlo in January. The SX4 WRC was once more entirely reliable throughout the day, with the problems on P-G Andersson's car only arising as the result of his impact against a kerb on SS8. He then had to face the longest stage of the rally - the 30.38 kilometres of Panzerplatte - with just three-wheel drive and only his front brakes.
Gardemeister enjoyed another faultless day and used the stages to increase his asphalt experience behind the wheel of the SX4 WRC. A number of suspension adjustments steadily improved the handling of the car throughout the day, and he finished every stage bar one in the top 10.

Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "It was actually a good day for us as we had no real problems at all despite the difficulty of the stages. Day two in Germany is one of the toughest days of the whole World Championship, so I'm very pleased to be here at the end. We were able to do top 10 times on nearly all of the stages without pushing too hard. It's been quite positive for us so far."

P-G Andersson: "I was just caught out by bad luck today: it was a tight right hairpin with a sharp tarmac edge inside. When I pulled the handbrake to get the car around the corner, the inside right wheel hit the tarmac and broke. First I thought we just had a puncture, but when I got to the stage finish we realised then what had happened. The rest of the rally is going to be all about testing for us now, which is important as we have two other asphalt rounds coming up this year. It's a pity we had the problem, as the car felt good and we were very close to Toni."

Team news:
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: "Our drivers have had mixed fortunes today, but the most important thing is that we are close to the points with Toni and well on the way to getting both cars to the finish with good reliability. Considering that this is our first asphalt rally since Monte Carlo with this car, we've all been encouraged by the positive progress made so far."

After an action-packed opening day of the Rallye Deutschland, the Suzuki SX4 WRC of Toni Gardemeister is in the top 10 - and the similar car of P-G Andersson is right behind him in 11th. Both cars were perfectly reliable throughout the first day of the event, which was formed of six stages split into two loops of three with service at Trier.
However, the action was cut short by an accident that stopped SS5 and spectator overcrowding that forced the cancellation of SS6. Deprived of the competitive kilometres needed to move up the leaderboard, the Suzukis have not yet had the chance to display their potential on this challenging event: the first asphalt round of the World Rally Championship since Monte Carlo in January. The weather remained dry and warm throughout the opening loop of stages, which were held close to the Mosel River near the German city of Trier.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson): The drivers used the opening day of the Rallye Deutschland to get back into the groove of asphalt driving for the first time since Monte Carlo more than six months ago. Despite a completely new surface and a new specification of Pirelli tyre, neither Suzuki SX4 WRC encountered the slightest mechanical problem throughout the day. Having used the shakedown test yesterday to start work on finding the best possible set-up for the event, both drivers continued to make solid progress throughout the day and they are equally confident of being able to improve their positions tomorrow.

Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "The day didn't start very well for me - I stalled the engine at one hairpin which meant I dropped time. There are so many corners and junctions in these stages that it?fs really hard on the brakes. Apart from that, the day has been good and the car has been absolutely fine."

P-G Andersson: "I have had a good feeling with the car today. It's been nice to drive. The stages are really tough and a big challenge for the car and driver. The SX4 WRC has been perfect, no problems at all. We made some changes to the set-up of the suspension this afternoon, which helped to get the car turned into corners easier. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It's always a big test to go into the Baumholder stages and there are always a lot of people out there watching."

Team news:
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: "Our cars have been very reliable so far, and we are well-poised to improve our positions tomorrow on what are sure to be some extremely challenging stages, with the possibility of wet weather as well."