2005 FIA Junior World Rally Championship
Round 4 - Acropolis Rally (23 June - 26 June)
Friday 24 June 2005 - Super Special Stage |
Guy Wilks, the Olympic leader of JWRC
Suzuki drivers Guy Wilks and P-G Andersson headed the Junior World Rally Championship field after tonight's scintillating super special stage in Athens' Olympic Stadium.
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| Guy Wilks is the first JWRC leader in the Acropolis 2005 |
This was the first time the venue, which played host to the world's greatest athletes during last year's Olympic Games, had been used on a rally. The 60,000-strong crowd were delighted at the Acropolis Rally organisers' decision to include the test.
Earlier in the day the crews had prepared themselves for the next three days of action at the pre-event shakedown, which went without incident for all the Suzukis. With shakedown out of the way, all eyes were on the Olympic Stadium.
 P-G was first off, racing head-to-head against Briton - and JWRC championship leader Kris Meeke - around the two-kilometre, all asphalt track.
This was to be yet another chapter of the Suzuki versus Citroen battle which is encapsulating this year's JWRC. P-G was victorious on an inch-perfect run through the tight and twisty stage. His team-mate Guy Wilks did even better by beating Citroen's Daniel Sordo and at the same time setting the fastest JWRC time. By the end of the evening, Suzuki had faced Citroen in three races and won them all.
With the high-speed, high-octane Olympic show over, it's down to business for the crews, as they face three tough days on some of the hardest and most demanding stages in this year's World Rally Championship. The Acropolis roads have a reputation for being unforgiving. Guy knows just what it takes to pick the fastest route through the rocks and boulders lying in wait for the unwary, having scored his first ever JWRC win on this rally 12 months ago.
Guy Wilks said : "What an amazing atmosphere. It was truly incredible in the stadium tonight. Before we went into the stage we could hear the crowds, but nothing really prepares you for what you see when you get in there. Unfortunately, with our helmets on, Phil and I couldn't hear the crowds very well! Being fastest on the stage is nice, it shows we mean business against our competitors, but there's still a very long way to go in this event."
P-G Andersson said : "That has to be one of the best super special stages I've driven - it was fantastic! My car was perfect for the stage. You had to be very careful all the way through, some of the corners were quite tight and really ready to catch you out. But all together it was fun to drive before 60.000 people! Now I can't wait to get into the stages tomorrow."
Risto Laine, Team manager : "We have had a very good start to this event. The shakedown went very well for us this morning, but our preparations for the Acropolis Rally actually started on Monday, when we completed a day-long test to finalise the set-up for the Ignis ahead of this event. There is no doubt this is a incredibly difficult rally, but the Suzuki has shown the pace, performance and durability to cope with conditions - I'm confident it will be the same this time around."
The real Acropolis Rally will start tomorrow with the first stage at 09:38. The cars will finish their first rally day at 17:01.
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