Reliability will be the key for Suzuki on the Rally Argentina this coming weekend, that's the verdict of the team's number one driver,
Toni Gardemeister.
Gardemeister and his team-mate, Per-Gunnar Andersson both retired on the opening leg in Mexico earlier this month and now they will be hoping the engine problems have been sorted.
If the SX4 WRC car can go the distance, Gardemeister believes he should be able to repeat the points' finish he notched in Sweden and with four Rally Argentina starts already under his belt, including a fifth in 2005, he has some useful prior experience to call on, even if he has missed the event the last two years running.
Furthermore, while he has been ill in recent weeks - suffering from a bout of flu, the Finn reckons the fourth round in the World Rally championship could be full of surprises and that might work in his and
Suzuki's favour.
"I have been feeling quite ill the week before the event, so it's not been a perfect start. However, I like Argentina very much and I'm looking forward to going back there after a two-year gap," he stated.
"Many of the stages are quite similar, so I'm hoping that this will not be too much of a disadvantage. There are lots of things that can catch people out too, so by driving carefully and keeping out of trouble there's a very good chance of scoring some useful points. Reliability is going to be the key, and there could be some surprises from the weather as well."
P-G meanwhile has only competed on the Cordoba-based event once before in 2006. Despite that lack of experience though, he is determined to try and continue where he left off in Mexico and he was running sixth overall there until mechanical issues forced him out in the first service.
"That's the plan," he confirmed. "I've only been to Argentina once before, so this will be another very big learning experience for me – although I'm getting used to that now.
