rallytalk

SWEDISH RALLY February 2005 | ISSUE #3

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2005 NOTEBOOK

Fire and ice…

The Swedish Rally marked an important new chapter in ’s motorsport history: the first step towards a possible full campaign at the very highest level. This year, the Monster Sport Europe Suzuki Ignis squad is focussing on the Junior , but the team is also competing on every round of the World Championship for the first time. The World Championship is of vital strategic importance for Suzuki, as it enables the team to gain both logistical and sporting experience for the future. was the first non-Junior World Championship round of the series, but familiar territory for reigning Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson. The Swede is well-acquainted with his local roads, having won the Swedish Rally Championship for the last two ICY IGNIS! years running. For his English team mate

Just before the there was hardly any snow at all, but luckily it snowed on the night of the rally start, covering the stages in a thin but crucial layer of the white stuff! This enabled the and their studded snow tyres to set the slippery stages alight!

Nobody was sure how the two- swept up first and second places wheel drive Suzukis would get on in their class, thanks also to the it was more of a learning in the extremely tricky conditions, talents of P-G Andersson and Guy experience, but he still acquitted himself where grip and traction was at a Wilks. Only two with honours on what is probably the most premium. But in the end, the Ignis finished ahead of the pair of specialised round of the World Rally beat most of the four-wheel drive Monster Sport Europe Suzukis, Championship. We hope you enjoy Group N cars – which have bigger while on the third leg the Suzukis reading about everybody’s adventures. engines and two more driven were quicker than all of the Group Sweden was a uniquely unforgettable wheels! It was a giant-killing N cars on most stages. Guy Wilks experience. performance from Suzuki, who was even quicker than one of

www.suzuki-swt.com 1 WHAT HAPPENED IN WRC

the top World Rally Cars on the on stage five, bending the steering. opening stage of the last day! Meanwhile, P-G set a mesmerising Although reigning Junior World Rally series of fastest stage times to reclaim Champion P-G eventually won by over the class lead by the end of the three minutes, the Swede got stuck in opening day. From then on he a ditch on the very first stage, losing extended his advantage, while Guy around a minute and a half. Guy took mounted an amazing fightback to the class lead, but dropped time with a move back to second in class. The Ignis puncture on stage three. His problems may be small, but it certainly packs a did not finish there as he went off punch!

Snow patrol!

Subaru driver won the Rally Sweden, after a thrilling head-to- head battle with ’s Marcus Gronholm over the icy stages. The leading duo swapped the lead six times over the course of the first two days, separated by just tenths of a second. But with such a frenetic pace, it was almost inevitable that something had to give. Gronholm crashed heavily on the final day while pushing hard, handing Solberg a clear advantage over driver Sebastien Loeb. The Frenchman had been worried by smoke from his engine at the end of the second day, and on the final morning it blew up definitively: a Final classification in class A6, Swedish Rally: rare retirement from the reigning World 1. Andersson/Andersson (Suzuki Ignis) 3h17m 10.0s 2. Wilks/Pugh (Suzuki Ignis) + 3m 09.8s Champion. 3. Joge/Johansson () + 4m 32.5s 4. Zachrisson/Svanstrom (Suzuki Ignis) +15m 37.7s

Peugeot’s Markko Martin therefore JWRC points table, after Rally: moved up to second after a quiet rally 1. 10 5. Luca Betti 4 spent refining the settings of his new 307 2. Kosti Katajamaki 8 6. P-G Andersson 3 3. Alan Scorcioni 6 7. Guy Wilks 2 WRC, while an eventual third for Ford 4. Daniel Sordo 5 8. Pavel Valousek 1 Focus driver was enough to move the Finn into the lead of Final WRC classification, Swedish Rally: the World Championship. 1 Solberg/Mills ( Impreza WRC) 3h00m 52.1s 2 Martin/Park ( WRC) + 2m 11.1s 3 Gardemeister/Honkanen ( WRC) + 3m 14.7s 4 Rovanpera/Pietilainen (Mitsubishi Lancer WRC) + 3m 26.4s Mitsubishi’s was on stunning 5 Solberg/Menkerud (Ford Focus WRC) + 3m 29.8s 6 Carlsson/Andersson (Peugeot 307 WRC) + 3m 42.5s form to rise as high as fourth overall, but 7 Galli/d’Amore (Mitsubishi Lancer WRC) + 4m 04.0s dropped time with pro- 8 Kresta/Tomanek (Ford Focus WRC) + 4m 39.6s 9 Paasonen/Vainikka (Skoda Fabia WRC) + 5m 11.1s blems on the second day. Skoda also 10 Ekstrom/Bergman (Skoda Fabia WRC) + 7m 04.2s fielded reigning DTM champion WRC points table, after Swedish Rally: Mattias Ekstrom, who ended up tenth Drivers points Manufacturers points after a power steering failure. 1 Toni Gardemeister 14 1 Ford 20 2 Markko Martin 13 2 Mitsubishi and Peugeot 17 3 Petter Solberg & Sebastien Loeb 10 4 Citroen 11 5 Harri Rovanpera 7 5 Subaru 10 6 6 6 Skoda 3 7 4

2 HERE IS THE RALLY SEEN THROUGH EACH DRIVER’S EYES

P-G ANDERSSON | S 1ST IN CLASS A6, 18TH OVERALL

“I always love competing on my home rally but the snow conditions were quite different to the past so to some extent this time was a new experience for me. The rally started off badly for me when I slid off on the first stage and went into a ditch, but at least I was in good company: Sebastien Loeb went in there too when the stage was run for the second time. After that I concentrated on going fast and driving tidily. Luckily, this tactic worked!”

GUY WILKS | GB 2ND IN CLASS A6, 22ND OVERALL

“Everything was going well until we picked up a puncture on stage three. There was a rock right in the middle of the road that many of the top World Rally Cars hit as well. Unfortunately we had to stop and change the wheel, which cost around three minutes. Our off on stage five meant that we didn’t get the ’s alignment properly sorted until the second day, but overall it’s been a fantastic learning experience and we’ve got a lot of the event.”

PETER ZACHRISSON | S 4TH IN CLASS A6, 29TH OVERALL

“This rally was a big step up, as I am not used to the power and handling of this type of car. But as the event went on I found myself growing in confidence and I think we can be proud of our performance. There was a lot to get used to, as the stage conditions during the rally were very different to those in the recce. I had a slight problem with the gear cut on day one, but apart from that the car was mechanically perfect and a lot of fun to drive.”

3 WRC FACES VIEW FROM THE TOP PIERO SODANO

Piero Sodano is the FIA Media Delegate, and organisers functions smoothly. responsible for all matters relating to the Before and after each rally there is a press media on the World Rally Championship. conference (which includes the Junior The Italian is in charge of media World Rally Championship winners) accreditation, and making sure that the organised by Piero. He also makes sure relationship between media, competitors that every press office has satisfactory facilities, and acts a spokesman for the Beat the locals! FIA. With the increasing amount of media exposure given to the World Rally It takes a lot to beat the local drivers on Championship, Piero’s role is more Rally Sweden. Up until last year, the crucial than ever. Away from rallies he event had never been won by a non- attends FIA meetings and represents the Scandinavian. Then Citroen’s Sebastien interests of the media when it comes to Loeb came along and shattered expec- planning future rules and arrangements. tations. “It’s very difficult to beat the While most of Piero’s time is now spent locals in Sweden,” says Loeb. “They behind a desk, he used to be a well- grow up with these very specialised known co-driver, sitting alongside such conditions, whereas most European legends as in the epic drivers have a background either on Stratos. gravel or on asphalt.” “I have a big passion for which I have never lost,” he says. “It still excites Yet three-time Rally Sweden winner me now to play a part in such a fantastic Marcus Gronholm disagrees. “Traditio- sport. Being a co-driver was an amazing nally, Scandinavians used to have an experience, but at my age I need to do advantage, but I do not think that is the something a little less active now!” case any more,” he says. “These days, the competition is so tight that every driver has to be good everywhere. Even DID YOU KNOW if you come from Sweden, you are not driving the roads every day. We all have the same amount of time for recce, so GETTING A GRIP we all start with the same information. It’s more important to have raw speed than experience. The locals can defi- Rally Sweden is the only pure snow rally of designed to penetrate the slippery surface nitely be beaten!” the World Championship, so all cars run on and bite through into harder ground skinny studded snow tyres which are underneath. These tyres, peppered with up But Suzuki’s P-G Andersson is a local to 400 studs, work at their best when the man who thinks that the right mixture of roads are covered in snow. If the roads speed and experience is required to get contain gravel, the friction can heat the the better of native knowledge. “I think it studs up to 300 degrees centigrade. This would be very difficult for a foreigner to eventually warms up the rubber around come to Sweden for the first time and them and the end result is that the studs expect to win,” he comments. fall out. When this happens, the car has very little grip and it is easy to have an accident. The moral of the story? Look after your tyres and they will look after you…

4 TEAM INFORMATION AROUND THE WORLD

ZAC ATTACK! Swift response!

Not many people have heard of Peter Away from rallies, Suzukis are Zachrisson, but he could well become a star in constantly seen at different motoring the future. The 22 year-old Swede drove the events around the world. One of the Ignis that P-G Andersson used to win the latest appearances for Suzuki was at the Swedish Super 1600 Championship last year, Brussels Motor Show, where the entire run by a private team owned by former range was displayed including the new Swedish driver Mats Carlsson. Peter previously Swift – which will be the basis of drove in the classic cup – a series Suzuki’s next Super 1600 challenger to designed for youngsters at the most basic level appear later this season. of rallying – so the Ignis was an enormous step. But he set some promising times and reached Belgium may only be a small country, but the finish of Rally Sweden fourth in class. Peter it has a strong tradition of motor sport in will compete on selected Swedish rounds this general and rallying in particular. year and also hopes to drive the Ignis on the Citroen’s Francois Duval is a Belgian Rally in June. driver who learnt his trade on the Junior World Rally Championship, and the country is home to several of Europe’s most famous asphalt rallies. The motor HOW TO... show was packed throughout all the public days, with local celebrities also DRIVE ON SNOW dropping in.

progressive. The key is to cleanest style – which is why The Swift was one of the star attractions keep the car flowing rather the smooth Sebastien Loeb in Brussels – appropriately enough for a than making any sharp became the first non- car that was designed specifically for Driving on snow is quite inputs onto the brakes, Scandinavian to win the the European market. The road cars that similar to driving on gravel, throttle and steering. The event last year. Looking after the Belgian public admired will benefit but it is even more quickest drivers in Sweden the studded tyres is also from a 1.3 and a 1.5 petrol engine (as well important to be smooth and are always those with the vital. as a new 1.3 litre diesel), while the rally car will have a fire-breathing 1600cc unit putting out more than 200 horsepower! EUROPEAN SUZUKI RALLY TEAMS They may look a little different, but the sporting DNA is exactly the same. LOCAL HELP

Whenever Suzuki goes to a rally, the team having taken a keen interest in rallying relies on crucial help from the local through the Suzuki careers of local heroes distributors. Suzuki Sweden is one of the Daniel Carlsson and P-G Andersson. Suzuki most proactive distributors of them all, Sweden supplied seven liveried support vehicles to the Monster Sport Europe team on the rally, ranging from Ignis recce cars to Grand Vitaras. Their local knowledge was also invaluable in helping to arrange a testing venue and accommodation.

5 NEXT ROUND

RALLY PREVIEW

Rally Mexico was brand new to the World Championship last year, so remains a relatively unknown quantity. The stages consist of flowing gravel roads with quite a wide variety of speeds and corners. The surfaces are made up of loose stones, and most of the drivers say that the roads are very enjoyable to drive. The weather will Corona remain on the whole warm, although rain can be possible. Rally headquarters is in Thursday 10 March 2005 the city of Leon, which is the leather 21h00 Ceremonial Start in capital of Mexico and boasts the World Championship’s only indoor service area. Friday 11 March 2005 08h30 Start of Leg 1 in Leon Above all, the Mexicans know how to 21h30 End of Leg 1 in Leon throw a good party. The event is after 6 special stages sponsored by Corona beer, and quite a lot Saturday 12 March 2005 of it gets consumed once the rally is over! 08h30 Start of Leg 2 in Leon 21h30 End of Leg 2 in Leon after 6 special stages

Sunday 13 March 2005 08h30 Start of Leg 3 in Leon 12h30 End of Leg 3 in Leon after 2 special stages

Total distance of special stages: 355 km POSTCARD Total distance of the rally: 929 km Number of special stages: 14 Number of different special stages: 8 Number of Legs: 3 Type of road: fast and flowing gravel Expected weather: warm

WRC CALENDAR 2005

20-23 January: Rallye Monte-Carlo (MC) 10-13 February: Uddeholm Swedish Rally (S) 10-13 March: Corona Rally Mexico (MEX) Dear All; 07-10 April: Propecia (NZ) It was lucky we packed our thermal 28 April-1 May: Supermag Rally Italia-Sardinia (I) underwear! Temperatures on the Rally 12-15 May: (CY) Sweden can dip as low as minus 30 02-05 June: (TR) degrees centigrade, making this event one 23-26 June: (GR) for the brave and adventurous. The 14-17 July: (RA) scenery was quite stunning, with 04-07 August: Neste Rally (SF) 25-28 August: OMV ADAC Ralye Deutschland (D) beautiful frozen lakes and forests. We 15-18 September: Rally GB (GB) even saw an elk or two running around. 29 September-2 October: (J) Rally headquarters was in the lively 20-23 October: Rallye de - (F) university town of Karlstad, which had 27-30 October: Rallye de Catalunya-Espana (E) plenty of nice bars and restaurants 10-13 November: Telstra Rally (AUS) where you can shelter from the cold. Like the Finns, the Swedes love their saunas (bold: Junior World Rally Championship) and their vodka – both useful ways to keep warm! Best regards, Rallytalk For more information please contact: Suzuki JWRC Public Relations Manager Dirk van der Sluys: [email protected] 6 www.suzuki-swt.com