SUZUKI DRIVERS READY FOR
THE UNKNOWN IN SARDINIA...

Mirco Baldacci wil feel at home in Sardinia

Monster Sport Europe Suzuki driver Guy Wilks heads into the penultimate round of the Junior World Rally Championship, the Rally d'Italia-Sardinia, in the series lead - and he has promised to drive flat-out for victory. The Englishman will face tough opposition from his Suzuki-driving colleagues, who are also well-placed in the championship.

Wilks leads the series by two points from Renault driver Nicolas Bernardi, while the Suzukis of Kosti Katajamaki and P-G Andersson are third and fourth. In total, the top four places are covered by just five points! Suzuki's San Marino driver Mirco Baldacci is out of the top four, despite having led the Rally Great Britain convincingly two weeks ago. But he will be looking to turn around his unlucky season to date with a strong performance on his home rally.

The all-new Rally d'Italia-Sardinia, run on gravel roads around the north east of the island, replaces the asphalt of Sanremo as Italy's round of the World Rally Championship this year. It will be a new experience for everybody, so nobody has an advantage of experience over the demanding stages. Weather conditions are expected to remain generally mild, but rain is a possibility high up in the mountains. The Sardinian stages take in a wide variety of speeds and surfaces, but the majority of the roads are composed of soft, almost sandy gravel.

Guy Wilks said: "The fact that I'm leading the championship doesn't alter my approach to this event. I'm going out there to win and it's every man for himself. I think the stages in Sardinia should suit me and the car so I'm looking forward to it. The championship fight is so close that there's no point in thinking tactically."

Kosti Katajamaki's consistency has also earned the Finn a chance of taking the championship lead if all goes well for him in Sardinia. "We're in a good situation, so we will try and make the most of that," he said. "Of course we have to look at what the others are doing and judge our speed according to that. But I think Sardinia will be the sort of rally I like."

Like Wilks, P-G Andersson has won two rounds of the JWRC this year, and the young Swede is anxious to make it three. "Sardinia should be good for me, as nobody has any previous experience of the event," he said. "We had to retire on the last rally when a stone cut a brake hose, so in Sardinia we will push hard to get right back into the championship fight."

Mirco Baldacci has been unlucky so far but he is aiming for a win on home territory to underline his natural speed and ability. "I've driven on roads in Sardinia before, but never on the stages used for this new rally," said Mirco. "It will be a surprise: hopefully a nice one! I've got no worries about the car, so it's down the driver now..."

As usual, the 2003-specification Ignis of Urmo Aava will line up alongside this year's cars in Sardinia. There will also be a fifth 2004-specification Ignis for young Finn Jari-Matti Latvala (Team JM Engineering) as well as an identical car for Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach (Team Birkbeck), but these will be run separately to the Monster Sport Europe squad.

Urmo said: "I've no idea what to expect from the Rally d'Italia-Sardinia, but it won't alter my tactics in any case. I have to go flat-out in order to move up the championship."

Monster Sport Europe team manager Risto Laine commented: "Sardinia will be quite a crucial rally in the championship. It's very tight at the top of the points table, and it's also the last gravel rally of the year before the last round in Spain. It's a good opportunity for our drivers to score some valuable points, but nobody is completely sure of what we will be getting in Sardinia. It's impossible to make any predictions, but we are as well prepared as we will ever be!"

The rally gets underway on Friday 1 October with the first of 19 stages. In total, drivers will tackle 389 competitive kilometres before the finish in Porto Cervo at 16:30 on Sunday 3 October.