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Suzuki heartbreak at triple retirement
Rally of Great Britain - Suzuki Super 1600 - Leg One [16/11/02 - 00:05]




Juha Kangas

he three privateer Suzuki Ignis teams have been bitterly disappointed by their premature retirements on the final round of the Junior World Championship, the Rally Great Britain. However, they have promised to bounce back in 2003. Everyone behind each Ignis team is determined not to let this one setback ruin what has been an encouraging debut year for Suzuki in Junior World Rally Championship competition.

All three cars started the opening leg of the Rally Great Britain, which consisted of 132 competitive kilometres. Conditions were changeable over today's six stages, and the three Suzuki drivers were ready to have their skills tested to the utmost. Suzuki Team Finland driver Juha Kangas enjoyed the tricky, muddy conditions but was frustrated to be held up by the Swiss driver Andrea Chemin on the opening stage of the day.

“I could have gone much faster,” he said. He was determined to make amends on stage three, but after a watersplash the car lost traction, and the lack of grip put the young Finn off the road. “I'm very sad as I knew we had a strong chance of scoring points here,” he said. “The car felt very good, but when I lost grip after the water there was nothing more I could do.”

Even local experts Colin McRae and Richard Burns went off on the slippery stages this morning, losing a minute each. Suzuki Team Germany's Niki Schelle was caught out on the same stage by a sharp, slippery corner which he approached too fast.




“It was the biggest mistake of my career,” said the dejected German afterwards. “I had a really good feeling with the car, but your hopes can disappear in just one second. But I'd like to thank the entire team for the fantastic job they've done all year.”

Suzuki Team Japan's Kazuhiko Niwa spent the first part of the rally getting to grips with the unfamiliar conditions, and also getting used to a new co- driver, Akihiko Takahashi. He grew in confidence, but was unexpectedly caught out by the changing surface. The car went into a ditch, and although it was undamaged, he could not regain the road in time to stay in the rally.

“I was picking up speed, and it was a silly mistake,” he said. “But rallying is all about learning, and sometimes the lessons are very hard. Already I've learnt a lot about driving on loose surfaces, and I'm hoping for better luck in future!”