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2003 FIA Junior World Rally Championship
Round 7 - Wales Rally GB (06-09 November)
Thursday 06 November 2003 - Shakedown and SS1
SUZUKI OFF TO FLYING START IN BRITAIN
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Salvador Canellas is fighting
for the title
Salvador Canellas/Xavier Amigo |
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| Daniel Carlsson/Mattias Andersson |
The four Suzuki Ignis Super 1600 cars have enjoyed
a flying start to the Rally Great Britain, the final round
of the 2003 Junior World Championship.
The rally started with a short 2.45 kilometre
spectator superspecial stage in Cardiff docks, before the
proper action gets going through the forests of Wales tomorrow.
Daniel Carlsson was the fastest Suzuki Ignis
through the superspecial, setting a time of 2 minutes 25.1
seconds (third fastest overall). He was followed by Urmo Aava,
who set a time of 2 minutes 27.6 seconds (seventh fastest).
Ville-Pertti Teuronen was not far behind on a time of 2 minutes
27.8 seconds (eighth fastest) while Salvador Canellas set
a time of 2 minutes 28.5 seconds (11th fastest).
Thousands of fans lined the superspecial, anxious to witness
the grand finale of a thrilling World Championship. The Junior
title, the overall WRC drivers' and manufacturers' titles
will all be decided in Britain this weekend. The tight two-by-two
superspecial stage may not have been long, but it tested the
abilities of drivers and cars to the utmost with some tight
corners and slippery surfaces.
Suzuki Ignis number 52 - Daniel Carlsson (S)/Mattias Andersson
(S)
Daniel Carlsson |
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Earlier today the cars had a final shakedown
test in Rheola forest, designed to check settings and make any
last-minute changes that were necessary. All four Suzuki drivers
decided not to make any changes and were happy with the base
set-up of the Ignis for the Welsh forests. Suzuki driver Daniel
Carlsson was comfortably quickest overall in the shakedown,
with a best time of 2 minutes 44.5 seconds.
He commented: "I'm feeling very confident about this
rally, as I think it will suit me and the car very well. The
shakedown was without problems, and I'm happy with the set-up
we've got over the next three days. The weather conditions are
normally quite tricky in Britain, but the forecast now is for
mostly dry weather. I think this should be good for everyone
- so we'll see what happens."
Suzuki Ignis number 69 - Salvador Canellas (E)/Xavier Amigo
(E)
Salvador Canellas |
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Salvador Canellas, who has an outside chance
of lifting the Junior World Championship title on this rally,
said: "There's no doubt that the championship will be
a tough task, but so far we've got off to a good start. To be
honest I'm not thinking about the title at all - more about
doing the best I possibly can on this rally. The car feels good
and I'm looking forward to it."
Suzuki Ignis number 71 - Urmo Aava (EE)/Kuldar Sikk (EE)
Suzuki Ignis number 64 - Ville-Pertti
Teuronen (FIN)/MARKKULA Mikko (FIN)
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Urmo Aava |
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Ville-Pertti Teuronen |
Urmo Aava and Ville-Pertti Teuronen also had a
trouble-free run through the shakedown and superspecial.
Monster Sport Europe team manager Risto Laine said: "Our
shakedown test this morning showed we had a good set-up and
our goal for the rally is to simply to try and win. At this
point in the season, there's no point in having any other
strategy. There's a very long way to go and the superspecial
stage doesn't mean anything really, but our drivers are happy
and the cars are quick. The real challenge starts tomorrow
morning!"
Tomorrow the drivers face six stages totalling
164 competitive kilometres. The first car leaves Cardiff at
0530 (GMT) and is scheduled to return at 2005.
| SS1 Cardiff Super Special1
(2.45kms) |
| Baldacci(Fiat)& Meeke (Opel) |
Fastest JWRC |
2:25.0 |
| Carlsson |
3rd fastest |
2:25.1 |
| Aava |
7th fastest |
2:27.6 |
| Teuronen |
8th fastest |
2:27.8 |
| Canellas |
11th fastest |
2:28.5 |
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