Suzuki World Rally team boss Nobuhiro Tajima has said that the aim this weekend in Turkey will be again to get both cars to the finish in the points and build on what was achieved in Greece.
Toni Gardemeister and Per-Gunnar Andersson gave the Paris-based squad its first two-car finish with the SX4 WRC on the Acropolis Rally two weeks ago and the target now is to consolidate that speed and reliability to go into the summer break on a positive note.
Turkey is very similar in nature to the Acropolis and as such the car will start off with the same base set-up. Some modifications have been made however, including adjustments to the suspension and dampers, as well as alterations to the cars cooling system to deal with the expected high temperatures more efficiently. In addition Suzuki's engineers have recently upgraded the SX4 WRC's underbody protection.
"Turkey is an excellent opportunity for us to continue developing the car in these types of conditions," said Tajima.
"So far we have made a lot of progress, but there is still plenty of work ahead of us if we are to achieve our objective of eventually challenging for podiums.
"Our objective for Turkey is to once more finish with both cars in the points and build some solid foundations for the future."
Toni Gardemeister and Per-Gunnar Andersson meanwhile were both encouraged by the outcome on round seven in the World Rally Championship and both also have experience in Turkey.
Gardemeister though last contested it in 2005 and so it will be very much question of re-acquainting himself with the Turkish stages after a three-year absence.
"I don't know a lot about the stages, but I remember that they were quite nice and classic gravel roads. In 2003 it was very cold, and the stages were partly covered with snow and ice. When I did the rally in 2005, the recce was very foggy so it was difficult to have good pace notes," said the Finn.
"Hopefully the conditions should be a bit better this year. In terms of the car, we have definitely seen an improvement in the reliability recently - and our aim is to continue in this way for the rest of the season."
P-G Andersson was also happy with the team's performance in the extreme conditions in Greece. He has competed in Turkey three times – once more than Gardemeister – and while he has bittersweet memories, he won the JWRC class in 2005 and did it again in 2006, until he was disqualified for a trivial rule infringement, he is looking forward to it.
"We're definitely on the right road, and I'm want another good result in Turkey. Because the conditions are not as bad as the Acropolis, I think we can definitely aim to score some driver points. If the car is as reliable as it was in Greece, I see no reason why that shouldn't be possible. Turkey is a rally that I like a lot, so I think we can push a bit," he added.
