Suzuki finishes the 2008 season on a high

The Suzuki World Rally Team has finished its debut World Rally Championship season with the SX4 WRC on a high note, equalling the team's best-ever result.

Up-and-coming Swede P-G Andersson was fifth at the end of the Wales Rally GB, matching the result he obtained on the Rally Japan last month. Toni Gardemeister was seventh, ensuring that the team placed both cars in the drivers' and manufacturers' points for the second consecutive event. It was a very positive conclusion to a season that has seen Suzuki steadily climb a steep learning curve, underlining the SX4 WRC's pace and reliability.

The final day of the Wales Rally GB consisted of two loops of two stages totalling 96.10 kilometres, with service at Swansea in between them. The finish, watched by thousands of fans, took place in the Welsh capital of Cardiff. With temperatures that dipped as low as minus six degrees centigrade overnight, there was plenty of frost and ice on the roads. Nonetheless, neither driver put a foot wrong in the tricky conditions. Andersson was able to maintain the fifth place that he started the day with, while Gardemeister made up one position to finish seventh.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson): Both the Suzuki SX4 WRCs were completely reliable throughout all three days of the rally, highlighting the car's reputation for strength and durability in some of the most inhospitable conditions seen all year. The drivers progressively adjusted the SX4 WRC's suspension set-up to cope with the soft roads today, but with such a wide variety of conditions it was mostly a question of identifying the best compromise.

Despite the challenging stages, the car showed that it was capable of setting some top-five times over the course of the rally - with Andersson finishing day one on the provisional podium.

Both drivers concentrated just on reaching the finish during the final leg today, although Gardemeister had a slight impact with a bank after sliding on a patch of ice on the day's second stage. P-G enjoyed a solid run to the finish, having steered clear of trouble throughout the four slippery stages that concluded the 2008 World Rally Championship season.

Driver news:

Toni Gardemeister: "Generally speaking there has been a surprising amount of grip today; when I opened the curtains and saw the frost this morning I thought that it would be much worse. However, we still found a patch of ice on SS17 and I had to go up the bank, otherwise we would have been off the road. Apart from that we had no real problems at all and I'm pleased to end the season with a points finish. It's very clear that we've improved the SX4 WRC a lot throughout the year in terms of both speed and reliability."

P-G Andersson: "It's been a really good rally for me, and the highlight was obviously finishing the first day in third overall. Today we had a big gap to the car in front so it was more a question of maintaining our position and luckily the conditions were a little more consistent than they were yesterday, so that helped us. We've had no problems at all during all three days and equalled our best ever result here despite the tricky weather, so it's an extremely positive way to end the season."

Team News:

Suzuki Team Director Shusuke Inagaki: "The Wales Rally GB is renowned for providing an extremely tough challenge, but conditions this year have been even worse than anticipated. Nonetheless, our cars have been extremely reliable and our drivers have kept them on the road. As a result, we have once more brought both the SX4 WRCs home in the points without problems for the second consecutive time. This is a sign of the very real progress we have made, and I would like to thank everybody in the team for all their efforts over the course of the season."

Final results:
1 Sebastien Loeb 1:47:59.7 0.0
2 Jari-Matti Latvala 1:47:52.4 +12.7
3 Dani Sordo 1:48:20.3 +1:20.6
4 Petter Solberg 1:48:44.9 +1:59.6
5 Per Gunnar Andersson 1:49:58.5 +4:04.1
6 Francois Duval 1:50:22.0 +5:07.8
7 Toni Gardemeister 1:51:25.4 +5:25.0
8 Mikko Hirvonen 1:50:07.1 +5:38.8

Day 2: Two Suzukis in the points heading into final day of Wales Rally GB

With just one day of this year's World Rally Championship remaining, both the factory Suzuki SX4 WRCs are in the points and are set to finish the team's debut season on a high. P-G Andersson is currently fifth while Toni Gardemeister is eighth, with neither car encountering any problems throughout the day's seven stages.

Conditions were once again cold but dry, with mud making the stages slippery. The action ended with a short superspecial stage in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, held entirely under cover.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
Neither of the Suzuki SX4 WRCs gave any cause for concern throughout the seven stages that were run today, enhancing Suzuki's reputation for strength and reliability. Once more, the car showed itself capable of setting top five stage times, underlining the progress that has been made throughout the season. However, with the road conditions degrading considerably, particularly during the second run through the stages in the afternoon, it was hard for the Suzuki drivers to improve on their impressive pace during the opening day, when P-G Andersson put an SX4 WRC on the provisional podium for the first time

Driver news:

Toni Gardemeister: "Today has been a very tough day: typical Rally Great Britain. We've had quite a good run and managed to set some decent times, particularly on the first stage, but maybe I was a bit too cautioussometimes as well. On the final stage before service the engine stopped, but it was just a small problem that we fixed at service. Now we have to keep concentrated and make sure that we avoid making any mistakes on the final day tomorrow - but we need some bad conditions to help us as well."

P-G Andersson: "I've enjoyed the stages, but after our provisional podium place yesterday, today has not been quite as good as we had hoped. I couldn't quite get the feeling that I needed to push hard, which was alittle bit frustrating. I think the car works a bit better in the softer conditions of yesterday but the big thing today for us has been the ice, which was really difficult. Having said that, fifth overall is still an excellent position and we can look forward to a really exciting battle tomorrow, as Henning Solberg is right behind us."

Team news:
Suzuki Team Director Shusuke Inagaki: "We always knew that today would be more difficult for us than yesterday but we have succeeded in our main objective, which is to bring two cars safely to the finish, ready for the final push tomorrow. The last day of the rally is nearly as long as the preceding two days, so anything can still happen. With both cars in a points-scoring position, we are well placed to end the season on a positive note, providing we steer clear of trouble."

Day 1: Suzuki on the podium at end of day one

On the final event of this year's World Rally Championship, both the Suzuki SX4 WRC entries are in the points, confirming the solid progress made throughout the season. P-G Andersson finished the day in third - Suzuki's best-ever result - while his team mate Toni Gardemeister was 11th after being slowed by a badly misting-up windscreen.

The opening day of the Wales Rally GB was characterised by bad weather that forced the cancellation of two special stages and the shortening of four further tests, reducing the competitive distance considerably. Nonetheless, huge crowds braved the British climate to witness some classic stages that have not been used since 2001. Despite the sheet ice and incredibly slippery conditions, neither Gardemeister nor Andersson put a foot wrong and both are poised to continue their strong run tomorrow.

Saturday's action will consist of seven more stages, concluding with a run through the spectator superspecial stage in Cardiff's Millennium stadium. At less than a kilometre long, this is the shortest stage in the entire World Rally Championship.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
Both SX4 WRCs were perfectly reliable all day, encountering no problems throughout the opening six stages of the rally. In view of the icy conditions, both drivers softened the suspension of their cars in an attempt to find traction and grip. This worked well, enabling the Suzukis to climb into the points. However, the constant rain meant that the windscreen of Toni Gardemeister's car misted up badly during the afternoon's loop of stages, robbing him of visibility and almost forcing him to a stop on more than one occasion. Nonetheless, the opening day of the Wales Rally GB has underlined both the pace and reliability of Suzuki on a level playing field - as today's action was new to most of the drivers.

Driver news:

Toni Gardemeister: "When the windscreen misted up in the afternoon it was really bad; I could hardly see at all, and I was having to ask my co-driver Tomi about what he could see through the right-hand bends. It got much worse after the watersplash, so some water must have got into the car. But when conditions are good, we can set some nice times so I'm hoping for another strong day tomorrow. It was definitely the right decision to cancel the stages, as the ice was really bad in the morning."

P-G Andersson: "It's been a great day today, and I am very proud to be on the podium overnight; the first time that this has happened for me or Suzuki with the SX4 WRC. This just goes to show that all the hard work we have put in over the year is really starting to pay off. Conditions today have been as bad as I can remember on the Rally GB: even the road sections were slippery! But I've really enjoyed today and I am aiming for another strong run tomorrow."

Team news:

Shusuke Inagaki, Suzuki World Rally Team Director: "The rally route has been even more difficult today than we expected, on account of the adverse weather conditions. The areas of ice were completely unpredictable, making for one of the most difficult rallies of the season. In these very tough conditions, our SX4 WRC proved that it was capable of fighting with the world's best and finishing on the provisional podium. Of course there is still a very long way to go over the next two days so we hope to capitalise upon this very promising start."