Suzuki Finishes On Podium In Germany
Published: 31st August 2005
Britain’s Guy Wilks driving the all-new Suzuki Swift has finished the Rally Deutschland with a podium position. His team mate P-G Andersson was fourth, ahead of Kosti Katajamaki who came home fifth in an Ignis. The final points-scoring place was occupied by Ignis driver Pavel Valousek in eighth.
The final leg of the all-asphalt event consisted of two loops of three stages, with a service halt in between at Bostalsee. The roads were wider and more flowing than the two previous days and the weather remained dry and warm
Guy started the day third, some distance behind the Citroen C2s of Daniel Sordo and Kris Meeke, after being forced to stop and change a puncture during leg two. He also had several spins due to a brake balance problem. Nonetheless, the Englishman was pleased with his performance on the Swift's asphalt debut. On the final day, he concentrated on maintaining his position safely to the finish.
Guy said: "When you consider how much further developed the Citroen C2 is compared to our new car, I think our performance is extremely encouraging. If you take away the time we lost on Sunday it would have been a much closer fight. I quite liked the roads today, but there was no point in pushing too hard as there was no way I was going to catch the two guys in front of me. But I also had P-G quite close behind me so I could not afford to relax."
P-G Andersson started the final day just 20 seconds behind Guy
in fourth. The Swede was determined to push hard to try to grab
the final podium place from his team mate.
Kosti Katajamaki, driving an Ignis run by Suzuki Sport Europe, brought
his car home safely in fifth after having a remarkably trouble-free
event. The Finn enjoyed perfect reliability and drove faultlessly
throughout all three days of the rally. With a big gap in front
and behind him, he was able to make steady progress to the finish.
Pavel Valousek started the final day eighth after battling gearbox
and driveshaft problems on day two. This final leg was much better
for him and he ended up taking the final driver’s point.
Suzuki Sport president Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima said: "This
is a good result for us. I am not at all worried by the gap to the
Citroens in front, because without Guy's problems he would have
been much closer. To be near their pace when the car is so new is
an excellent achievement. Of course we still have plenty of things
that we can do to the car, but there is so much potential there
to build on."
The next round of the Junior World Rally Championship is the Tour of Corsica from 21-23 October, but the Suzuki Swifts of Guy and P-G will be back in action in just over two weeks’ time on the Rally Great Britain from 16-18 September.
Suzuki Swift
Our Suzuki Swift Guide lists the full specification of the current UK Swift range, including car prices, fuel consumption, dimensions and other vital data.
Price Range: £8,260 - £11,915
Body Style:
Fuel:
/ 
Models in the range: 6
Our Car Buyer’s Guide covers all of the UK’s major new cars and includes CO2 ratings and car insurance groups. Data updated on the 21st Sep 2008
