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| SUZUKI SATISFIED WITH CANBERRA PERFORMANCE |
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| 6 MAY 2002 |
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| Ignis start at the center of Canberra |
Suzuki driver Nobuhiro Tajima took the chance to show and improve
the performance of the Ignis Super 1600 rally car on the 3-5 May Rally of Canberra.
| Tajima made a careful start on this, the first
event he has driven on in five months, using the opening leg to continue a Suzuki
Junior World Championship team test programme that had commenced in France two
weeks ago. |
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Ignis; Leg1 |
Even so, the Suzuki Ignis completed the first leg as leader in the Super 1600
class, and placed 23rd overall.
Satisfied with the progress made in developing the car, Tajima drove harder on
leg two. Setting some good times, he maintained the Ignis Super 1600cc class lead,
and climbed five places in the overall standings.
"It was a very good day," said Tajima. "The car was going well,
and I was also feeling good as a driver."
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Further testing was the focus
of the Suzuki Rally Sport Team on the third and final leg of the Australian event.
After finding that overnight changes to the suspension settings had not brought
the expected gains, the team tried further settings. These provided a substantial
improvement in traction. |
| Ignis; Leg2 |
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| Tajima gained several places,
surviving a collision with a kangaroo to reach an excellent 10th place after the
rally's 17th stage. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire on the next stage after
suffering a drive shaft problem. |
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Ignis;
Leg3 |
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"The end result was not
so good for the rally, but in the long term it was very good for testing purposes,"
said Tajima. "We have now been able to develop many parts of the car for
gravel. This should be a very big help to the Suzuki Junior World Championship
team as it prepares for the first gravel-surface events in the word series."
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| Nobuhiro "Monster"
Tajima |
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The next round of the Asian Pacific Rally Championship is the Rally New
Caledonia on May 31 - June 2. |
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