2004 FIA Junior World Rally Championship
Round 6 - Rally of Italy-Sardinia (30 September-03 October)
Thursday 30 September 2004 - Start

SUZUKI DRIVERS READY FOR ACTION IN SARDINIA

The four Monster Sport Europe Suzuki Ignis drivers are looking forward to action on the all-new Rally d'Italia-Sardinia tomorrow, after crossing the ramp in tonight's ceremonial start at the millionaire's resort of Porto Cervo. The event marks the start of the penultimate round of the Junior World Rally Championship.

Mirco Baldacci ready to attack

In addition to the regular squad of Mirco Baldacci, championship leader Guy Wilks, Kosti Katajamaki and P-G Andersson, two newcomers to Suzuki will also drive a 2004 specification Ignis in Finland: Jari-Matti Latvala (run by Czech team JM Engineering) and Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach (run by British outfit Birkbeck). As usual, Urmo Aava will also drive his 2003-specification Ignis. All the drivers are registered to score Junior World Rally Championship points.

In addition to the ceremonial start, watched by thousands of excited fans, the drivers also completed a short shakedown test today: a last-minute opportunity to check their cars over and finalise settings. The afternoon's shakedown was held close to the central service park in Olbia, and all the Suzuki drivers declared themselves extremely happy with their cars. Weather conditions today remained dry and warm.

Mirco Baldacci, competing on his home event, said: "This rally is going to be something of a new experience for everybody! But I have every confidence in the car and the team, so I am aiming for victory. I've come so close so many times this year already, so to do it here would be fantastic."

Guy Wilks, currently leading the Junior World Rally Championship, commented: "You can never draw too many conclusions from the shakedown test. But everything has gone well so far, and now we just have to try to get the job done. The championship situation is so close that we can't waste a lot of time thinking about it: we just have to drive as fast as possible."

Kosti Katajamaki, who has finished on the podium on the last three rallies, reported: "I'm looking forward to this event. It seems quite varied and demanding and I love fast gravel roads such as these. We've still got a chance to do well in the championship so we will have to keep a close eye on what everybody else is doing. The most important thing is to make sure of a good finish."

P-G Andersson, winner of two JWRC events this year, said: "I think this rally should suit me and the car because nobody comes here with any particular advantage in terms of experience - which has not been the case in the previous rallies. I want to start at a good pace, but without taking crazy risks either."

Monster Sport Europe team manager Risto Laine commented: "The shakedown was quite interesting, because it was the first taste that our drivers had of these sorts of roads. But as always, a short stage can never be particularly representative of the whole of a three-day rally. The most important thing is that the drivers seem happy with their cars and in a confident mood. This rally comes at a crucial point in the championship, so it should be a fascinating weekend!"

Jari-Matti Latvala, driving a 2004-specification Ignis for only the third time, said: "After completing the Rally Great Britain with the Ignis in fourth place, I feel quite a lot more confident with the car - although I still have a lot to take on board. I have a bit of experience of rallying in Italy in the past, so I hope this well help me."

Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach, in an Ignis for the first time, said: "This rally will be a massive learning curve for me. But my initial impressions of the car are very positive, so I'm sure that this rally will be a great experience."

Urmo Aava, in his 2003 car, is also ready for action. The Estonian said: "The roads seem very nice here and I've got a lot of confidence in the car. But there are a lot of unknown factors, so I do not want to make too many predictions!"

The first of 19 special stages gets going at 09:12 (GMT+2) tomorrow, with the drivers scheduled to cover 384 competitive kilometres before the finish on Sunday October 3 at 14:33.

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