Gardemeister had a rough season opening round in Monte Carlo
Hallinta Hoop, 27.1.2008
Toni Gardemeister was on course to join his team mate in a points-scoring finish, having completed all but five special stages of this challenging event. Unfortunately the Finn was forced into retirement at the very end of the penultimate day, but he too managed to set a sixth-fastest stage time and prove that the new Suzuki SX4 WRC has the pace to run towards the front.
The final day¹s action saw the crews complete two loops of stages over the legendary Col de Turini, where thousands of spectators traditionally gather to cheer on their heroes. Andersson concentrated on consolidating Suzuki¹s first points finish, before the rally concluded with a spectator superspecial stage using parts of Monaco¹s famous Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit.
Having moved into the top eight on the third day of the rally, Andersson finished the event a minute and a half clear of his nearest rival. Toni Gardemeister also made good progress throughout the rally despite some turbo boost problems on the second day. By the third day he had climbed back to 10th place and was set for a points finish, but his SX4 WRC began to overheat on SS14, Lamastre. The Finn and his co-driver Tomi Tuominen managed to get the car back to the final service park in Valence, but the mechanics discovered that there had been damage to the engine. In order to get to the bottom of the problem, the team decided to retire the car so that the causes could be investigated back at the factory in Paris.
Andersson and Gardemeister reported no problems or punctures with Pirelli¹s control tyres, which were being used for the first time in Monte Carlo, and the event was also a valuable exercise for the newly-formed Suzuki World Rally Team which now consists of around 120 people to practise working together.
The experienced Toni Gardemeister, driving on his ninth Monte Carlo Rally, was also pleased with his Suzuki debut despite being forced into retirement.
The 32 year-old Finn commented: ³Without the problems that we unfortunately encountered, we would have been fighting for points here which I knew was possible from the start and P-G has also proved with his excellent performance. It¹s clear that the car has a lot of potential, so actually I¹m very happy. Now that the season is underway, we have to keep working hard to improve the car all the time. Our next rally is Sweden, which I like a lot.
If we can find a good rhythm, it¹s certainly possible for us to do well there."