Suzuki maintains top 10 position on the toughest day of the season

It has been a day of mixed fortunes for the Suzuki World Rally Team. At one stage, both SX4 WRCs of P-G Andersson and Toni Gardemeister were inside the top 10, with Andersson was running sixth after an agonisingly tough second run through the Agii Theodori test. The second day of this Acropolis Rally had been billed as one of the toughest of the year so far. It certainly lived up to that, with cars succumbing to the searing heat and exceptionally twisty and rocky roads. Andersson failed to finish the day after his SX4 WRC hit suspension trouble in the day¹s penultimate test. Gardemeister battled on to ensure Suzuki retained a presence inside the top 10 as this harshest of rallies moved into the final day.

Toni Gardemeister¹s car was hit with a power steering fault on the final stage of the morning. The car then lost power in the afternoon due to damage sustained to the exhaust system. Andersson¹s car had run well through the morning. The trouble set-in for the Swede on the second run through the Pissia test, where he joined the long list of drivers whose cars were sidelined by suspension trouble caused by the extremely harsh stage conditions.

Toni Gardemeister: ³The day was tough. After we had made some good progress with the engine this morning, we had a problem in the afternoon which took some of the power away, but we¹re here and ready to push on to the finish tomorrow.²

Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: ³This rally doesn¹t have its tough reputation for nothing. We discovered that today. Both P-G and Toni were setting good, consistent stage times earlier this morning, but then these roads have hit back. Like many of our competitors who have suffered similar trouble, we have been caught by the exceptionally rough conditions. On a positive note, Toni has completed the second day and remains on-course to achieve our objective of getting the SX4 WRC to the finish of what is undoubtedly the most technically difficult rally of the season. Both of our cars are set to score points in the manufacturers¹ championship and that¹s what we came for.²

Leaderboard after Day 2
1. S Loeb/D Elena FRA Citroen C4 2hr 48min 11.1sec
2. P Solberg/P Mills NOR Subaru Impreza 2hr 48min 39.8sec
3. H Solberg/C Menkerud NOR Ford Focus RS 2hr 49min 16.4sec
4. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 51min 12.3sec
5. U Aava/K Sikk EST Citroen C4 2hr 52min 22.7sec
6. M Wilson/S Martin GBR Ford Focus RS 2hr 52min 33.9sec
7. D Sordo/M Marti ESP Citroen C4 2hr 53min 44.7sec
8. J-M Latvala/M Anttila FIN Ford Focus RS 2hr 57min 02.4sec
9. C Rautenbach/D Senior ZIM Citroen C4 2hr 57min 09.1sec
10 T Gardemeister/T Tuominen FIN Suzuki SX4 2hr 57min 24.1sec