Suzuki News

Urmo Aava takes lead in Junior Rally Championship 2007

Suzuki one and two at the top of the standings

Suzuki driver Urmo Aava has moved into the lead of the Junior Championship after a carefully-controlled drive to second place on the ADAC Rallye Deutschland.

P-G Andersson, who was forced to miss the fifth round of the series in Germany, is currently second in the Championship, making it a Suzuki one-two at the top of the standings.

Englishman James Wozencroft deputised for Andersson in Germany, and ran in the points before having to stop on the second day as a result of a broken wheel stud. He re-started the final day under the super rally system, and set some promising times while building up more experience at the wheel of the Suzuki Swift Super 1600.

“This rally was all about taking things carefully for me, particularly on the final day when it would have been so easy to throw all our hard work away. Now we can be very pleased with a job well done, which has given us the lead of the championship: our objective from the very first stage. It’s been a very difficult rally and I’m very pleased to get to the end,” said Urma Aava.

After claiming the British Super 1600 title last year in an Ignis, James Wozencroft already has plenty of experience of Suzuki. On his Junior Championship debut in the Suzuki Swift Super 1600, he used the tricky opening leg to acclimatise himself to the car and the notoriously variable road conditions and ended day one less than 30 seconds outside the points.

On day two the Englishman was forced to retire with brakes and suspension damage on SS10, the notorious Panzerplatte. Nevertheless “mission accomplished” was his conclusion on Sunday: “I’m very grateful to Suzuki for giving me this fantastic chance to gain experience of a world class event. I’ve enjoyed every minute.”

“Well done all,” said team principal Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima after the completion of the most complicated asphalt event of the year: “I would like to commend our drivers for getting through it safely and doing exactly what we asked, despite the difficult circumstances,” he stated.

“Urmo has moved into a well-deserved lead of the championship, and with P-G second we have a Suzuki one-two! I am also very pleased that we were able to give James this chance to gain some valuable experience, and he has clearly used the opportunity to the full.”

Junior Rally Championship classification, ADAC Rallye Deutschland:
1 Martin Prokop (Citroen C2 S1600) 3h52m26.9s
2 Urmo Aava (Suzuki Swift S1600) +49.5s
3 Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen C2 S1600) +2m15.9s
4 Aaron Burkart (Citroen C2 S1600) +4m24.1s
5 Jozef Beres (Renault Clio S1600) +8m49.6s
6 Jaan Molder (Suzuki Swift S1600) +9m22.4s
7 Yoann Bonato (Citroen C2 R2) +13m05.6s
8 Aigar Pars (Suzuki Swift S1600) +13m21.4s
12 James Wozencroft (Suzuki Swift S1600) +32m56.1s

Junior Rally Championship after ADAC Rallye Deutschland (round 5 of 7):
1 Urmo Aava (Suzuki) 32
2 P-G Andersson (Suzuki) 28
3 Patrick Sandell (Renault) 19
4 Jaan Molder (Suzuki) 17
5 Martin Prokop (Citroen) 16
6 Aaron Burkart (Citroen) 14
7 Josef Beres (Renault) 13
8 Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen) 11

Two world premiers and the announcement of the WRC driver line-up

• World Premiere of Suzuki Splash
• World Premiere of Concept Kizashi
• SX4 WRC (World Rally Championship) car for 2007 and its drivers
• Press Conference on 11th September, 2007 at 14:00h in Hall 3.1, Stand A07

Suzuki will be unveiling a number of exciting world premiers at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show which runs from 13th-23rd September.

The first is the all-new compact car, the Splash, the company’s fourth all-new, world strategic model within three years. Like the Swift, Grand Vitara and SX4, Splash incorporates strong European design and styling themes which continue to lead Suzuki’s worldwide new product development strategy.

A further highpoint at the Show is the debut of the Kizashi concept car, an all-new proposal for Suzuki’s first contender in the D-segment and a significant step for the world’s twelfth largest automobile producer as it moves from a manufacturer specialising in compact cars and four-wheel drives to one offering a much broader product portfolio.

There is also likely to be considerable interest in the World Rally Championship version of the SX4, which will make an appearance in Frankfurt before facing its first competitive test in mid October at the Rallye de France in Corsica. And alongside the rest of Suzuki’s current best selling models on the stand will be some leading edge products from Suzuki’s motorcycle and marine ranges.

Suzuki Splash: the fresh, stylish family car
The first phase of Suzuki’s new world strategy focused on sporting performance, leading Swift, Grand Vitara and SX4 to success. Splash is now the first new product of the second product development phase.  This all-new compact primarily targets families enjoying an active lifestyle through fresh design, exuberant and cheerful spirit and driving fun.
The all-Suzuki designed, all-new car is 3.7 metres long and 1.7 metres wide. It becomes available in spring 2008 with three engine choices: a 1.0 litre-three cylinder petrol (48 kW/65 PS), a 1.2 litre-four cylinder petrol (63 kW/86 PS) and a 1.3 litre DDiS turbo diesel (55 kW/75 PS) with an optional diesel particulate filter.

CO2 emissions for the Euro 4-compliant vehicles with five speed manual transmission range from 120 to 140 g/km. For safety the Splash is equipped with standard features such as anti-lock braking (ABS) and electronic brake-force distribution (EBD). An electronic stability program (ESP®)* and six airbags (dual front airbags, dual seat-side airbags, dual curtain airbags) will be specified for certain models. * ESP is a registered trademark of DaimlerChrysler AG.

Concept Kizashi: breakthrough into the medium segment
Concept Kizashi – a Japanese word meaning prelude or foretaste – will be making its world debut at the Show. Full of energy, flexible and emotionally appealing, it represents the first example of the third phase in Suzuki’s new world strategy which will have status as its major theme. With this mid-range model the Japanese automobile producer will complete its ‘upward breakthrough’ enabling it to offer a much wider choice of product in the market.

Suzuki motor sport: SX4 WRC 2007 drivers at the Show
At the Show the much anticipated driver line-up for the SX4 WRC team will be present and on 12th October, 2007 the WRC version of the urban crossover joins the Rallye de France in Corsica where it will take part in its first competitive run.

The final test for 2007 follows at Wales Rally GB [30 Nov-2 Dec], before Suzuki enters its first full WRC season in January, 2008. The WRC car on the stand is likely to be of great interest to more than just the technologically aware members of the motoring and motor sport public and for Suzuki, its entrance into the WRC will be one of the most important marketing and sales initiatives over the next few years.

The Suzuki Way of Life extended to motorcycles and marine products
Suzuki’s Way of Life promotional strategyis being extended to all divisions at Suzuki and exhibits from the Motorcycle and Marine divisions include the new B-King as well as the 4-stroke outboard motor DF 300.

Detailed information about Suzuki models and activities will be available at the Press Conference on 11th September, 2007 at 14:00h, Hall 3.1, Stand A07.

About Suzuki
SUZUKI Motor Corporation, with its headquarters in Hamamatsu, Japan is the leading international manufacturer of compact cars and – currently – the world’s twelfth largest automobile manufacturer.

The Company employs some 45,510 people and is represented in over 192 countries. Its net sales have grown successively for eight consecutive years. In its last financial year [to 31st March, 2007] turnover reached about 19.4 billion euro [3,163 billion yen] an increase of 15.2 percent over the previous year. In that year worldwide sales included, among many other products, 2.22 million automobiles and 3.06 million motorcycles. Suzuki has 35 main production facilities in 23 countries.

With its Way of Life promotional strategySuzuki stands for brand values that include excitement, a straightforward approach to its business, value-for-money, sporting performance and spirit. These values manifest themselves into innovation, best-fit products for its customers, an impressive motor sport history, a number of ambitious and successful rally engagements and convincing core competence – among others – in the areas of  off-road and four-wheel drive, based on almost 100 years’ experience.