Outline of JWRC>>> Specification of Suzuki Ignis Super 1600>>> Profiles of drivers and co-drivers>>> Profiles of organization>>> Milestones & 2002 schedule for the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship>>>

Suzuki Motor Corporation announced today the 2002 motorsport plan to support, through Suzuki Sport Co., Ltd., 3 private rally teams "Team Suzuki Ignis" from Japan, Finland, and Germany who are to challenge the FIA Junior World Rally Championship. This support covers supply of the base vehicle Ignis, technical assistances, and back-up for team operation. Suzuki Motor Corporation hopes these activities will contribute not only to sales promotion both in domestic and overseas markets, but also to the development of production vehicles by utilizing obtained technical data. Outline of JWRC Junior World Rally Championship For Drivers (Junior WRC) FIA Junior World Rally Championship (Junior WRC) is a new category organized by FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile), aiming to attract young talented rally drivers. It started from the year of 2001 and was called "Super 1600 Championship," originally. The 2001 Championship formed part of WRC (6 European rounds); Catalunya, Acropolis, Finland, San Remo, Corsica, and Great Britain. The 2002 Championship, being renamed as "Junior WRC," will consist of 6 races out of 14 WRC events as follows. 2002 Junior World Rally Championship calendar Dates WRC round Country Jan. 17-20 Round 1 Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo Monaco Mar. 22-24 Round 4 Rallye Catalunya - Costa Brava/Rallye de España Spain Jun. 13-16 Round 7 Acropolis Rally Greece Aug. 22-25 Round 10 ADAC Rallye Deutschland Germany Sep. 19-22 Round 11 Rally Sanremo - Rallye d'Italie Italy Nov. 14-17 Round 14 Network Q Rally of Great Britain U.K. The Super 1600 rally cars should have front-wheel drive with a normally aspirated 1600 cc engine. The maximum engine revolution must be below 9,000 rpm and the engine should install Ø60mm intake restrictor. The minimum weight should be 950kg with no crew and fuel. A number of strict measures have been regulated to keep the costs of developing and running a rally car down, including prohibiting use of special materials such as titanium or magnesium, and limiting the maximum number of tires to be used by each car. And, the number of mechanics allowed per one car is limited to four. No works teams or manufactures are allowed to participate, and the price of a car ready to race is capped at US$100,000. Outline of Suzuki Ignis Super 1600 Based on the 3-door model, the Ignis Super 1600 is powered by an in-line four DOHC 16-valve engine producing 151kW(206ps) at 8,500rpm and 180Nm(18.4kg-m) at 7,250rpm. The power is delivered to the road through Suzuki Sport 6-speed sequential transmission. The Ignis Super 1600 already debuted from 2001 season in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). Driven by Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima and co-driver Julia Rabbett, the Ignis was honored with the first Super 1600 champion in the APRC. Covering the total distance of 4,000km including 1,000km of special stages in the past 2001 season, the Ignis Super 1600, the first Japanese Junior WRC car, has been tested and tuned to prepare for the up-coming season. Specification of Suzuki Ignis Super 1600>>> Team and Drivers Three of "Team Suzuki Ignis" come from Japan, Finland and Germany, and each team will be rallied by the following drivers and co-drivers. Suzuki Motor Corporation will support, through Suzuki Sport Co., Ltd., these rally teams challenging the Junior WRC in various technical assistances, team operation and sales of kit parts. Team Driver Co-driver Team Suzuki Ignis SWT Kazuhiko Niwa (JPN) Kohei Kusaka (JPN) Team Suzuki Ignis Kangas Juha Kangas (FIN) Mika Ovaskainen (FIN) Team Suzuki Ignis Schelle Nikolaus Schelle (GER) Gerhard Weiss (GER) Profiles of drivers and co-drivers>>> Attachments Specification of Suzuki Ignis Super 1600 Profiles of drivers and co-drivers Profiles of organization Milestones & 2002 schedule for the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship