"I have been doing some more training for this event because it can be very demanding on the body especially with the thin air.
"I struggled a bit last year with feeling because of the engine power loss with the altitude but this year we have an 07 Focus so we will see what this does. I am going to try my best here and hopefully we can finish in the points which will help both myself and the Munchi’s team."
Suzuki WRT:
[
Toni Gardemeister, car #11 and Per-Gunnar Andersson, car #12]
Milestone event for Gardemeister.
Toni Gardemeister will start his one hundredth WRC event in Mexico.
Gardemeister made his debut in the WRC in 1996 and while he has been competing in the sport for over 10 years, he is still only 32-years-old. Thus far he has notched over 100 points and having opened his account for the year in Sweden, when he brought his Suzuki SX4 WRC car home in seventh, he is now determined to add to that tally.
He thinks that will 'definitely' be possible too, even though he has only done the Leon-based event once before back in 2005 - when he finished sixth – and even though this will be the SX4 WRC's first competitive appearance outside of Europe, as well as only its second ever outing on gravel.
"To rack up 100 world rallies is a nice achievement," said Toni. "I've been in the championship for quite some time now, but it's a bit misleading as there are quite a lot of people who have done more rallies than me.
"I'm looking forward to Mexico. I was so ill the last time I did this rally that I struggled to finish sixth. Maybe that's why I don't remember so much about it!
"But I do remember that the stages were nice, although there were some very big rocks that seemed to come out of nowhere.
"We have to be realistic and accept that this will not be an easy rally for us as everything is unknown. But I'm aiming to enjoy my 100th event and score some more points for
Suzuki. I think that's definitely possible."
