Suzuki News

A new base for the Suzuki World Rally Team has been established in France and a new line up of highly experienced personnel has been assigned the task of preparing the SX4 World Rally Car for its first entry into competition.

So far, two experienced drivers have been entrusted with the task of testing and developing the SX4 World Rally Car for competition on both Gravel and Tarmac surfaces and in order to maintain consistency and assist with our goal of developing the car fully in preparation for the 2008 season , it has been decided that the drivers entrusted with the job of testing the SX4 World Rally Car to this point, shall be granted the privilege of debuting the first Suzuki World Rally Car in the two test World Rally Championship events selected for participation in 2007.

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the driver selected to drive the SX4 World Rally Car in its debut TARMAC World Rally Championship event; The Rally de France - Tour de Corse , will be Nicholas BERNARDI co-driven by Jean-Marc FORTIN

And that the driver selected to drive the SX4 World Rally Car in its debut GRAVEL World Rally Championship event -Wales rally GB, will be Sebastien LINDHOLM, co-driven by Tomi TUOMINEN

Suzuki has competed successfully since 2002 in the Junior World Rally Championship and Asia Pacific Rally Championship with young and relatively inexperienced ‘Junior’ drivers and helped them to achieve numerous successes in the sport.

It has always been our dream to find the new ’stars of the future’ and to give those young drivers the opportunity and encourage and support them to reach the pinnacle of the sport. We feel that by helping younger drivers to achieve greater things in the World Rally Championship that the sports popularity will grow and its future will be guaranteed.

2004 Junior World Rally Champion and current Suzuki driver - P-G Andersson and long time Suzuki driver; Urmo Aava are current recipients of Suzuki’s support and guidance and will undoubtedly see more success in future WRC seasons to come.

Suzuki has invested heavily in the World Rally Championship over the past five years and been rewarded by the exposure that the sport presents. By continuing to invest in the World Rally Championships as a medium to promote Suzuki vehicles, with a new car and at the top level , it is our hope that the World Rally Championship will also grow and develop further and encourage other manufacturers to become involved again.

With regard to driver selection for Suzuki’s first full season with the SX4 World Rally Car in the World Rally Championship in 2008, no decision has yet been made as to which drivers will be entrusted with the task of piloting the SX4 World Rally Cars for the duration of the 2008 season.

Over the next couple of months we shall be reviewing all possibilities for driver selection in 2008 and endeavor to make decisions based upon our strategies to date. Alongside its young drivers, Suzuki has grown from being a newcomer in the Junior World Rally Championships in 2002 to achieving success and winning a Junior world championship title in 2004 along with countless national and international titles.

Suzuki has successfully developed 3 generations of Super 1600 car and many Group N cars that are continually seeing success all over the World.

In 2007 and 2008 Suzuki becomes a beginner again taking on its biggest challenge to date in the absolute top level of the World Rally Championship. Our strategy will be to grow as a World Level team and to select SX4 World Rally Car drivers and team personnel capable of growing with us to develop our cars into cars that can win World Titles again in the future.

We appreciate your continued support and ask that you follow closely our progress over the next few years.

Also, Suzuki is pleased to announce that Shell International Petroleum Company Limited will be supporting the Suzuki WRC challenge in addition to its existing support of the Suzuki JRC works teams.

Suzuki gears up for the WRC

Meanwhile the development of the SX4 WRC is well under way. During the last few months the team conducted extensive tests on both tarmac and gravel. Now it is ready for its official debut at Rallye de France in Corsica on 12 October, where it will complete its first run under real contest conditions. The very last test will follow at Wales Rally GB (30 Nov – 2 Dec), before Suzuki enters its first full WRC season in January 2008.

At the same time, Suzuki is gearing up for the new FIA regulation effective as of 2012. In 2008, Suzuki will exploit its efforts that were achieved by now and will prepare for the next WRC era.

Tajima is quite optimistic about the premiere results: “Our tests in Europe went better than expected. The machine, which has been continuously improved, is well evaluated by the test drivers and shows good performance. As we carried out our tests in France with a good outcome, fairly good results can be expected for Rallye de France, too.”

For 2008, Tajima’s ambition is not less than a podium position: “I believe that victory is very important in the world of sports. So we aim not only at finishing the rally, but also at finishing in the top three position.”

Suzuki’s participation in the WRC is one of the most important marketing and sales initiatives for the corporation’s automobile division in recent years. It will boost the image and brand identity of Suzuki as a major manufacturer of cars that are technically excellent, sporty and fun, and will also provide technical feedback which will assist in the development of new models for launch in the future as a part of Suzuki’s global new product development programme.

Suzuki’s decision to participate in the WRC – the world’s most demanding motor sport competition and one of the top two motor sport championships alongside Formula 1 – follows its very successful involvement in the Junior Rally Championship (JRC) since 2002. Suzuki Ignis Super 1600 placed first in 2004, their 3rd year of participation in the JRC. In 2006, the two works teams started on Suzuki Swift Super 1600, winning the 1st place at Rally Norway in February and finishing the year on rank two and three. Results of this year are already very promising.

Pilot’s profiles