25.4.2008 - Tricky start for Suzuki in Jordan - Game over for Gardemeister

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. Finland¹s 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.

The engine in Gardemeister¹s 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 couldn¹t even remember where the impact had happened. Andersson¹s 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.

Toni Gardemeister: ³I 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 wasn¹t pushing very hard. I wasn¹t flat-out and didn¹t want to take the big risks. I don¹t 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 wasn¹t 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.²

Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: ³Toni¹s problem was unfortunate. It¹s 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 drivers¹ first time on this event, it¹s 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 it¹s 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.²

Final positions (subject to routine fuel analysis)
1. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 4hr 02min 47.9sec
2. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 4hr 04min 03.6sec
3. C Atkinson/S Prévot AUS Subaru Impreza 4hr 07min 47.4sec
4. H Solberg/C Menkerud NOR Ford Focus RS 4hr 10min 23.7sec
5. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 4hr 13min 29.6sec
6. F Villagra/J Perez Companc ARG Ford Focus RS 4hr 14min 10.1sec
7. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 4hr 15min 03.5sec
8. G Galli/G Bernacchini ITA Ford Focus RS 4hr 15min 12.3sec
9. K Al Qassimi/M Orr UAE Ford Focus RS 4hr 21min 53.6sec
10 S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 4hr 26min 26.0sec
--- Toni Gardemeister, retirement

24.4.2008 - Suzuki SX4 WRC gets underway in Jordan

The Suzuki World Rally Team started the first ever World Rally Championship round in Jordan this evening, when Toni Gardemeister and P-G Andersson drove their Suzuki SX4 WRCs over the ceremonial startline in the Dead Sea area of Jordan, south-west of the nation¹s capital, Amman. Both drivers arrive on Jordan Rally with high hopes of taking points from this historic event. They are both aware, however, of the challenge which lies ahead. The drivers will be faced with 22 arduous gravel stages before they reach the finish on Sunday afternoon. And, unusually for this time of the year in Jordan, they will be competing in some of the hottest temperatures of the season.

Today¹s shakedown test was completed with temperatures heading towards 40 degrees. These conditions are expected for the first two days of competition, before the temperature falls to around 25 degrees on Sunday. Sunday promises a real sting in the tail, with two runs of Jordan River ­ at 41.45km the longest stage of the event ­ in one of the toughest final days in recent World Rally Championship history.

Never having competed in the Middle East before, Toni Gardemeister and P-G Andersson were both keen to get into the 2.5km shakedown stage, located just north of the service park on the banks of the Dead Sea. Both cars completed their final test before the start without major problems, with Gardemeister and Andersson using the time to conclude their set-up for this fifth round of the World Rally Championship.

Following a successful test at shakedown, both cars went through their final preparation procedure before they were taken up the road to the ceremonial start on the banks of the Dead Sea. Following the start, the two Suzuki SX4 WRCs were locked into parc ferme for the night before the start of the competitive action in the morning.

Toni Gardemeister: "This is something new for me ­ I¹ve never rallied in these kind of conditions before. The recce showed how precise we are going to have to be on these roads. There are some big rocks right at the side of the stage, rocks which could end the rally. Having said that, in some places you can go 100 metres off the line of the corner and not hit anything, then in the next bend, you couldn¹t go 10cm too wide without hitting a very big rock. The blind crests are going to be very interesting. You think it¹s going to be straight after the crest and then there¹s a square corner right ahead of you ­ it¹s very hard to read these roads. I start this event chasing points. I am confident this is possible. Equally, I think this will be an event with plenty of incidents. It¹s certainly going to be an exciting rally."

Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: ³This has the look of an extremely difficult event. And the weather is going to make it even tougher with temperatures of 40 degrees plus. The recce went very well for us and the drivers are reporting that the stages are very tricky, with some really fast sections and hard-packed roads. We are looking forward to this rally and we have prepared well. We have shown in previous events that we can be competitive with the other WRC cars and that¹s what we want in Jordan. At the same time, we can learn about the set-up of the car in preparation for the next three similar rallies to come in Sardinia, Greece and Turkey."