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Productive weekend for Suzuki in Corsica |
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Sunday, 14 October 2007 |
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 The dream has begun for Suzuki, as the SX4 World Rally Car of Nicolas Bernardi and his co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin crossed the start ramp of the Rallye de France Tour de Corse: the very first event of Suzuki's world rally adventure.
This year, the Japanese manufacturer will compete on the asphalt roads of Corsica with Bernardi and Fortin, before tackling the gravel roads of Great Britain with Sebastian Lindholm and Tomi Tuominen.
During the morning, the SX4 WRC had its first taste of action at the shakedown test near Ajaccio: a last-minute opportunity to finalise settings and refine the car before the competitive stages start tomorrow.
The car posted some respectable times at the shakedown, but as will be the case during the rally itself, the team is looking only to increase the amount of development distance the SX4 WRC has undertaken, with the two rallies this year an extension of the testing programme in preparation for a full campaign in 2008.
During the afternoon, the team hosted a media launch on a ship moored in Ajaccio harbour the venue for the headquarters and service park of the 13th round of this year's World Rally Championship.
Chief engineer of the Suzuki Motor Corporation Osamu Honda was present at the launch, along with Nobuhiro Tajima (the president of Suzuki Sport), Michel Nandan, (the team's technical manager), and the driving crew of Bernardi and Fortin.
 The drivers left the press launch as soon as it finished to cross the start ramp at the Place Foch in central Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica. The first of 16 all-asphalt special stages gets underway at 08:38 tomorrow, with the last car due in parc ferme by 21:00 tomorrow evening.
The route of the Rallye de France has changed considerably for this year compared to 2006, with all-new stages on Friday and Saturday, so nobody starts with an advantage in terms of experience.
The Suzuki SX4 WRC crew of Nicolas Bernardi and Jean-Marc Fortin were delighted to reach the finish of their car's debut event. The aim for them on this rally has been to continue the development programme on asphalt, and throughout the three days of the Rallye de France the team has been able to sample a wide variety of asphalt conditions.
The car re-started under the super rally system this morning, having been halted by an unforeseen fuel injector problem yesterday. It ran without major problems throughout today's four stages, totalling 112 competitive kilometres, although Bernardi was slowed by a hydraulic-related gearshift problem, which meant that the car was sometimes reluctant to change gear. Nonetheless he brought it safely to the finish, having collected vital data that will be essential for development in the future.
Suzuki World Rally Team driver Nicolas Bernardi enjoyed the final day behind the wheel of the SX4 WRC, on roads that he has some experience of from the past. He said: "We've been able to confirm a number of things we have discovered from our previous test programme and formulate some very clear ideas about the right direction for the future. During the afternoon we had a problem that affected the gearshift, but it did not stop me from enjoying these fantastic roads!"
 The team has done what it set out to do in Corsica, learning some valuable lessons that will contribute to the future development of the SX4 WRC. Nobuhiro Tajima, team principal of the Suzuki World Rally Team, commented: "Wee very pleased to get our all-new car to the finish of this event, which was our main objective here. Today's hydraulic problem was a small inconvenience, but it is all part of the process of testing. This experience has taught us a lot, and we now have several ideas about how we will work on fine-tuning the development of our car."
The Suzuki World Rally Team's next event will be the all-gravel Rally Great Britain, round 16 of the World Rally Championship, from November 30-December 2. Sebastian Lindholm will drive the SX4 WRC, co-driven by Tomi Tuominen.
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