The all-new Suzuki Swift has finished its debut event on the podium, despite a time loss of more than two minutes with a rogue puncture on the opening day. Without this piece of bad luck, it is likely that Guy Wilks would have challenged for victory on Rally Finland, round five of the Junior World Rally Championship. The Englishman put in a stunning recovery drive to end Rally Finland in third place, clearly demonstrating the pace of the new Swift Super 1600. Guy's achievement now means that he leads the Junior World Rally Championship by 4 points.

First podium for the Suzuki Swift

Finland - the fastest and most challenging event of the entire calendar - saw Suzuki set the overwhelming majority of fastest stage times. This was not just down to the new Swift, but also the all-conquering Ignis. Urmo Aava ends the rally in a stunning second place. He too dropped time with a puncture and with road penalties for exiting service too late on day two. Without these problems, Urmo would also have been able to challenge for victory on the event that every driver wants to win.

Czech youngster Martin Prokop drove the final Ignis to get to the finish, coming home in 6th place despite losing oil pressure at the end of leg two.

The last day of Rally Finland was made up of four gravel stages run consecutively, with no service or tyre changes allowed in between. With a clear gap to Aava in second, Guy concentrated on getting the new Swift to a safe podium finish and ensuring his position at the head of the Junior World Rally Championship. Despite running at a relaxed pace, Guy still managed to set fastest times!

He said: "It was an event that started off unluckily for us and got a lot better. We lost a lot of time with the puncture on the first day, which was a shame as I feel that we could certainly have challenged for the lead. Generally speaking, I'm very happy indeed with the performance of the new Swift. It says a lot that we were able to set quick times without ever really pushing very hard. The handling and suspension travel makes the car extremely easy to drive, and of course I'm delighted that this result has enabled me to lead the championship! I'm looking forward to the next event now - it will be excellent to see what the Swift can do on asphalt. I know it will be quick."

Urmo also drove safely to the finish, having lost the chance to fight for the lead after he punctured on the longest stage of the rally yesterday. His Ignis had no mechanical problems whatsoever, and he dramatically boosts his placing in the overall championship standings.

The Estonian said: "It's been an extremely good rally for us, which I think we could have won with a bit more luck. In any case I have to be happy with second place, which brings us a lot more points for the championship. Rally Finland reminds me of the roads we have at home in Estonia, and the Ignis is the ideal tool for the job. I've been massively impressed by its speed and reliability, and I'm sure we can get more good results between now and the end of the year."

Czech youngster Martin Prokop was forced to stop on the last loop of stages yesterday after his engine drained itself of oil. He re-started the final leg today under the 'super rally' system, and finishes the rally in 6th place.
Martin said: "My aim on this rally was to get to the end and learn the event. I'm very pleased to have done both, although I was worried that it would not be possible after my problem yesterday. Now I think I have more confidence in fast conditions."

Not all the drivers were so lucky. Reigning Junior Champion P-G Andersson crashed his new Swift out of the rally on the opening day, over a tricky bump that also caused problems for rally winner Marcus Gronholm and reigning World Champion Sebastien Loeb. Kosti Katajamaki set fastest times but retired his Ignis with transmission problems, while Pavel Valousek lost fourth place after his engine drained itself of oil on the final day.

Suzuki Sport President Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima said: "To put the new Swift on the podium of its first rally is a proud achievement! I am sure it will be on the top step soon. With a bit more luck Guy could have challenged for a win, and the same is true for Urmo. In rallying you can never always be lucky, but you can always be good. And our drivers were all very good indeed on this tricky event!"

The Suzukis are back in action in just over two weeks time for the next round of the Junior World Rally Championship, Germany's all-asphalt Rally Deutschland from August 26-28.

Junior World Rally Championship classification at end of leg three, Rally Finland:

1. Daniel Sordo (Citroen C2) 3h20m17.8s
2. Urmo Aava (Suzuki Ignis) +1m32.6s
3. Guy Wilks (Suzuki Swift) +3m49.9s
4. Luca Betti (Renault Clio) +9m36.3s
5. Mirco Baldacci (Fiat Punto) +21m14.8s
6. Martin Prokop (Suzuki Ignis) +32m34.7s
7. Kris Meeke (Citroen C2) +34m49.9s
8. Conrad Rautenbach (Citroen C2) +36m36.8s

Junior World Rally Championship points:

1 Guy Wilks (Suzuki Ignis) 29p
2 P-G Andersson (Suzuki Ignis) 25p
Daniel Sordo (Citroen C2)
4 Urmo Aava (Suzuki Ignis) 22p
5 Kris Meeke (Citroen C2)21p
6 Luca Betti (Renault Clio) 14p
7 Kosti Katajamaki (Suzuki Ignis) 13p
8 Mirco Baldacci (Fiat Punto) 8p
9 Martin Prokop (Suzuki Ignis) 7p
10 Alan Scorcioni (Suzuki Ignis) 6p
Pavel Valousek (Suzuki Ignis) 6p