Suzuki team boss, Nobuhiro Tajima has said that he was 'very pleased' with the progress made by the outfit on the Rally GB this weekend.

The event was only the all-new SX4 WRC's second outing in the FIA World Rally Championship - and its first on gravel, as the Japanese manufacturer continues it preparations for a full-time assault on the 'senior' level in 2008.

Sebastian Lindholm, who has been responsible for the gravel development of the SX4 since its inception, was given the task of driving the car in Wales, and while he was forced out early on day 1, when a sharp stone severed a brake pipe, he still got it to the finish.

Indeed the SX4 WRC ran reliably and consistently on the other two legs, with the Finn eventually finishing in 27th place overall.

“We are very pleased with the progress that has been made on the Rally Great Britain, thanks to all the hard work from our test team and drivers,” Tajima confirmed. “In extreme weathers we have gained a lot of data, tested many things and have had quite a few problems that we have had to solve.

“If we had encountered no problems at all then I would have been very worried. Setting fast times was not our objective this weekend.

“Overall throughout the entire testing programme with the SX4 WRC we consider all our experiences, both good and bad, to have been very valuable. Our testing objectives for 2007 have been fulfilled and the experience gained has put us in a much better position than when we began.

“Next year will be a new start for the Suzuki World Rally Team: testing is over now and for 2008 a new strategy will begin with a new team. We look forward to our fresh challenges coming up!”

Lindholm meanwhile also felt that much had been gained and he enjoyed confirming the settings established during private testing. He also posted his best stage time on the final day, when he was 14th fastest in SS15, the 28.24 kilometre-run through Trawscoed 1.

“We've done a lot of useful work throughout this event, and gathered a lot of information that will be crucial for the future,” stated the 46 year-old.

“Our objective from the beginning of this rally was simply to get to the end: we weren't even looking at the stage times or taking any risks. The conditions throughout all three days were very bad, but this is typical of Wales so it was a very good learning experience for us.”