The Rally Cyprus is round six of the World Championship, and although it is not part of the Junior World Rally Championship, Suzuki will once more enter two cars for P-G Andersson and Guy Wilks in class A6 in order to gain experience for the future.

Again a new experience for Andersson and Wilks in Cyprus

Cyprus is notorious for being the roughest, slowest and hottest gravel rally of the year, making it a real car-breaker as well as an endurance test for the drivers. Searing temperatures regularly peak at over 30 degrees centigrade, so physical fitness is an important attribute. A strong car is essential to overcome the violent pounding from the rough rocks, while sharp stones make punctures a constant risk. The event is characterised by a large number of tight hairpin bends, which means that the cars have to be extremely efficient in terms of traction and braking.

Relying only on two-wheel drive, Cyprus is sure to be an extremely difficult event for Suzuki. But the team will be trying once more to beat the more powerful two-litre four-wheel drive cars of the Production Car World Rally Championship. So far, the Ignis has showed itself capable of matching and often beating the Group N cars - despite an estimated 80 horsepower deficit. But Cyprus will be one of the toughest challenges yet, as the four-wheel drive of the Group N cars will hand them a crucial advantage accelerating out of the many gravelly hairpin bends.

Reigning Junior World Champion P-G Andersson is competing in Cyprus for the first time, and says he has little idea of what to expect. "I think it will be an extremely tough rally," he commented. "I've heard all about the rough rocks and high temperatures, and a lot of it will come down to luck and avoiding punctures. The key will be to find a very neat and smooth driving style in order to stay in the middle of the road and not get too sideways. A big rock can end your rally in seconds, so I think it will be a question of driving slower than usual in order to be more precise. That's what I did in the rockiest sections of the Rally Sardinia, and it seemed to work."

Guy Wilks is also making his debut in Cyprus, but the tricky conditions will not put him off. "I'm just going to have to do my best and drive as neatly as possible," he said. "Having said that, I was driving on the correct lines all the time in Sardinia and I still managed to pick up several punctures! In many ways, you just have to drive these stages rather than attack them. Smoothness pays off. It's going to be very tough for the co-drivers as well: the constant sequence corners mean that they will be talking all the time."

Team manager Risto Laine commented: "Cyprus is an event that we will really have to take as it comes. It's going to be very punishing for the cars and drivers, and like everybody else we will need a bit of luck on our side. We saw from the high rates of retirement and punctures in Sardinia that these extremely rough events are not ideally suited to Super 1600 cars. Having said, the Ignis is extremely strong and this will be very useful practice for the other rough rallies in Turkey and Greece this year."

Rally Cyprus gets underway on Friday May 13 from Limassol. Drivers then tackle 18 special stages totalling 326 competitive kilometres, before the finish back in Limassol on Sunday May 15.