JWRC: Suzuki target debut win with Swift.
Suzuki team manager, Risto Laine has said they are confident the new Swift S1600 will have the speed to win on its debut in Finland this weekend.
Team drivers, Per-Gunnar Andersson and Guy Wilks racked up more than 500 kilometres of fault-free running during their pre-Finland test, which was aimed at adjusting the Swift's set-up to the specific demands of the Finnish stages. Throughout the test the Swift was entirely reliable, with no mechanical problems whatsoever.
Suzuki team manager, Risto Laine has said they are confident the new Swift S1600 will have the speed to win on its debut in Finland this weekend.
Team drivers, Per-Gunnar Andersson and Guy Wilks racked up more than 500 kilometres of fault-free running during their pre-Finland test, which was aimed at adjusting the Swift's set-up to the specific demands of the Finnish stages. Throughout the test the Swift was entirely reliable, with no mechanical problems whatsoever.
Both drivers, as well as the team management, were delighted by the results of the test that puts the Swift firmly on course to succeed in Suzuki's stated objective of winning its first event.
"The test was perfect - we had no problems whatsoever and we are very much looking forward to the start of the rally," confirmed Laine.
"It was a routine pre-event test, which meant that our focus was on making the car perfect for the conditions. We were not expecting any problems, and we did not have them. We're confident that the results of our tests have proved that we are fast enough to win, but there is no substitute for the real heat of competition."
Reigning Junior champion Per-Gunnar Andersson is also full of optimism and he is determined to give the Swift a debut win on an event he loves.
"Finland suits my driving style really well and it should also be very well suited to the Swift," said Andersson. "There's probably nowhere more challenging for the car to make its debut. We've found a suspension set-up that will work really well on the flat-out roads and will allow me to attack to the maximum. I'm really looking forward to giving it my best shot."
Suzuki will also be represented on this event in the JWRC by several Ignis' - Suzuki Sport Europe will run a pair of Ignis Super 1600 cars for Kosti Katajamaki and Urmo Aava, while Czech team JM Engineering will run two Ignis entries: for Italian Alan Scorcioni and Czech Pavel Valousek. Finally, there will be another Ignis run by Czech team Jipocar for Martin Prokop.
