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| RALLY OF CONTRASTS |
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| 3 June 2002 |
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The 2002 Rally of New Caledonia has been a supreme test in
all conditions. Everyday has been different - different weather from pouring rain
to searing sun, different terrain from twisty mountain roads to flat 190kph blind
crests and dips. Road surfaces that include slippery mud, hard fast gravel and
red volcanic soil that ball-bearing surface makes it as slippery as ice. For the
three days of the rally the Suzuki Ignis driven by Nobuhiro Tajima and co-driven
by Julia Rabbett went fantastically well and although a drive-shaft problem put
them out of the event, Tajima pronounced the event a success due to the enormous
amount of valuable data collected.
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| IGNIS:LEG1 |
Heavy rain returned for the ceremonial start in mid-town Noumea
and the first leg of the event was run in wet and muddy conditions. Although many
cars went sliding off the tricky roads, Tajima bought the car home at the end
of the day in a good position 'We had one moment but otherwise the car has run
faultlessly ' , said Tajima at the end of the day. Two vastly different stages
made up Day 2 - "Boghen", a fast uphill climb, across a tablelands leading into
a steep twisty decent run three times, then "Lebris" near the coast, flat with
many crests and dips and for the faster cars speeds of up to 190kph - run twice.
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| IGNIS:LEG3 |
Part way through the 2nd running of Boghen a similar problem
to Canberra returned - a broken drive-shaft that put the team out of the event.
I quick trip back to Noumea and the problem was repaired and ready for the third
leg - APRC rules allow teams to re-start a leg if the car is repairable. "Of course
I am disappointed not to finish but our main goal is testing for Greece and for
that reason tomorrow is very important" said Tajima prior to the final leg in
the south part of the island. This area is termed the 'red-zone' as the soil is
a red pumice surface, and although fast can be very rough with many ruts. And
on the final day the Suzuki flew through the stages picking up many fast times
compared to the rest of the field and running faultlessly as well. At the final
control Tajima had a beaming smile "We fine-tuned the Suzuki Ignis suspension
today and it is working very very well - today's stages in New Caledonia were
perfect for testing, almost same as the rough and fast roads in Greece. We pushed
hard today with no problem and ended the day 6th fastest. This rally has been
perfect for our preparation for the next Junior World Rally Championship event
the WRC Rally of Acropolis". Success continues as the bonus points collected from
individual leg wins means the Suzuki team still lead the APRC Super 1600 class.
The next rally in the Asia Pacific Championship is in Rotorua, New Zealand home
to the infamous Motu stage, trout filled lakes, hot mud pools and the championships
only winter event.
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