 |
| ISLAND PARADISE FOR SUZUKI |
 |
| 30 May 2002 |
|
 |
 |
| New Caledonia |
|
| The South Pacific tropical island of New Caledonia is the scene for the second round of the 2002 Asia Pacific Rally Championship. New Caledonia is a small island on the map, but is in fact 400 kilometres long with a mountainous landscape and a warm climate. The island is governed by the French and is home to 200,000 inhabitants and many ethnic groups including Melanesian, Europeans, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Tahitians. |
 |
| Suzuki Ignis at last year's Rally of New Caledonia |
The Suzuki Rally team makes a welcome return to the island and the Rally of New Caledonia and while seeking to retain the APRC Super 1600 won last year, they have another mission and that is to continue testing the Suzuki Ignis for its biggest test yet - the Acropolis Rally in Greece. After a very successful test held recently in France they are confident and the Rally of New Caledonia will provide more valuable data as the roads on the island can be rough, hard and fast. The last 3 days has seen heavy rain falling and now the sunshine has returned to dry the roads and the ruts - it will be very rough. "I'm looking forward to this Rally because we have many new parts we want to test -for instance after our problem in Canberra we have a new drive-shaft. The test in France was good and from that we have some new things we want to try. This is a very busy time for us but I am so glad to be here to test the car before Greece".
|
| The Rally of New Caledonia begins on Friday, 31 May from main city of Noumea and then heads for the hills nearby - two stages run three times. Evening will see the cars compete in a superspecial at the very popular hippodrome complex. After a nights rest and an early start the cars will tackle the longest day in the Northern part of the island including the infamous mountain stage Katrikouin, 25 kilometres of tight, twisting mountain road that with the recent rain will be treacherously slippery. The final day is in the South of the island in an area known for its red volcanic soil.
|
|
This is the final test for the Suzuki Ignis before the gruelling WRC Acropolis Rally. The team are confident that the car is strong, fast and reliable and that they can leave New Caledonia with more points in the APRC championship and a car ready for the tortures of Greece.
|
| The next report from the Rally of New Caledonia will appear on this site on Monday 3 June, after the finish of the event. |
|
|
|
|
