Gardemeister and Suzuki celebrate a Mexican fiesta!

Rally Mexico, round three of this year¹s World Rally Championship, will mark an important milestone for Toni Gardemeister and Suzuki. For Gardemeister, Mexico is his 100th World Rally Championship start, while for Suzuki it is the SX4 WRC¹s first competitive appearance outside of Europe ­ as well as the first round of this year¹s championship to be held on gravel.

Having started his World Championship career on the 1996 Rally Finland, Gardemeister is also the factory driver who has been competing on the series for the longest amount of time ­ despite the fact that he is still only 32 years of age!

The action is sure to be fast and furious on the colourful Rally Mexico, but once again Suzuki finds itself facing a steep learning curve. With the last test event on gravel for the SX4 WRC coming at the 2007 Rally Great Britain, the team and drivers will have to try to find the correct set-up as they go along. Mexico is a crucial event as it is the first World Rally of the year to be held in normal gravel conditions, following the slippery asphalt of Monte Carlo and the icy slush of Sweden. The information gathered in the heat and dust of Mexico will be vital for the many gravel events that are still to come.

The Mexican stages have a number of peculiarities however. With some stages peaking at more than 2000 metres, Mexico is the highest event on the World Championship. The effect of this altitude is to rob the turbocharged engines of power, with cars losing up to 25 percent of their total horsepower in the thin air.

The rally is based in Leon, the leather capital of Mexico, and comprises 20 special stages totalling 353.75 competitive kilometres. For more information: www.rallymexico.com

Mexico joined the World Rally Championship in 2004, but Suzuki has only competed there once ­ with the Ignis Super 1600 in 2005. The SX4 WRC only has one gravel event behind it ­ last year¹s Rally Great Britain with Sebastian Lindholm ­ so there will be a lot to learn. Nonetheless the basic speed and reliability of the SX4 WRC has been good for a car in this very early stage of its career, with a pair of points finishes already in the bag after the two opening rounds of the World Championship.

Following the Swedish Rally a number of small improvements have been made to the hydraulic system in order to improve reliability and also performance. The Mexican stages are reasonably smooth so the car will run in standard gravel trim. The roads are notoriously hard on brakes though, which will be one of the many factors considered when determining the set-up. Mexico is also the first outing for Pirelli¹s new ŒScorpion¹ gravel control tyres.

Toni Gardemeister and P-G Andersson have one thing in common heading into the Rally Mexico: they have both competed on the rally on just one occasion, in 2005. Andersson has happy memories of the event, finishing second in class behind his Suzuki team mate, while Gardemeister mostly remembers being afflicted with a heavy flu that hampered his performance. On the occasion of his 100th world rally though, the Finn is feeling upbeat and in perfect health.

³To rack up 100 world rallies is a nice achievement,² he said. ³I¹ve been in the championship for quite some time now, but it¹s a bit misleading as there are quite a lot of people who have done more rallies than me. I¹m looking forward to Mexico: I was so ill the last time I did this rally that I struggled to finish sixth. Maybe that¹s why I don¹t remember so much about it! But I do remember that the stages were nice, although there were some very big rocks that seemed to come out of nowhere. We have to be realistic and accept that this will not be an easy rally for us as everything is unknown. But I¹m aiming to enjoy my 100th event and score some more points for Suzuki. I think that¹s definitely possible.²

The pressure is on for Suzuki in Mexico, as it aims to continue its perfect points-scoring record so far from home. As it is the first long-haul event of the season, the team will be using the fly-away kit for the first time, which is freighted from event to event when it is not possible to use the normal trucks.

Mexico is also the very first gravel event of Suzuki¹s first full World Championship season, making it important for the team to adapt the car to this new surface quickly. Under these difficult circumstances, the team nonetheless aims to score a points finish with both cars.

Nobuhiro ŒMonster¹ Tajima, Suzuki¹s team principal, commented: ³This rally will be a very big test for us, but we need to approach it patiently and methodically ­ as we have done throughout the season so far. Of course we start off at a disadvantage compared to our more experienced rivals, but this is all part of the learning process. Gravel will be a new adventure for us this year in Mexico and it is important for us to get it right, step by step, in view of all the other events to come. At the same time we aim to enjoy ourselves and help Toni celebrate his 100 World Rallies! I am very pleased that this important anniversary has come with Suzuki.²