Following two test events in Corsica and Great Britain last year, the Suzuki World Rally Team now embarks on its first full season of world rallying with two new drivers: Toni Gardemeister from Finland and Per-Gunnar Andersson from Sweden, the reigning Junior Rally Champion with Suzuki.
The first of the 15 rounds that make up the 2008 World Rally Championship is the legendary Monte Carlo Rally, the oldest and most prestigious event of the series. Just like the roulette games played in the Principality's famous casino, the outcome of the rally can be a lottery. Conditions can vary many times in the same stage, and it is not uncommon for a stage to start off in bright sunshine and end with snow and ice.
For the second consecutive year, the Monte Carlo Rally will start off in the town of Valence, in the Ardeche region of France, with two night stages on Thursday evening. The route takes in 12 more stages in the area on Friday and Saturday, before moving down to Monaco for four classic stages over the Col de Turini and a superspecial stage using part of Monaco's famous Grand Prix circuit. The prize-giving ceremony will take place in front of Monaco's Royal Palace on Sunday at 15:30 (CET).
As usual a wide range of conditions are expected on this year's event, making Monte Carlo one of the most difficult rallies on the entire calendar. As well as varying weather, crews face a huge variety of road conditions: from bumpy, broken asphalt with reasonable grip to sheet ice like a skating rink. In total, the rally consists of 365.09 competitive kilometres.
For the first time, the Suzuki World Rally Team will run two cars, as it will over the rest of the season. Gardemeister starts his ninth Monte Carlo Rally this year, and it is one of his favourite events. The Finn was on the podium as recently as 2006, and he has finished in the points on five occasions. His co-driver this year is Tomi Tuominen, who knows the SX4 WRC well after partnering Sebastian Lindholm on the Rally GB last year.
"It's fantastic for me to be back in the World Championship with Suzuki, and if things go well for us in Monte Carlo I think we can come away with points," said Gardemeister. "The car is still new, so we're not going to be on the pace of the frontrunners yet, but the overall set-up and reliability is good."
"The SX4 has a very compact wheelbase so it changes direction quickly, which will be very useful on the fast and twisty roads of Monte Carlo. This is always an unpredictable event, but I think that mixed conditions could actually work in our favour. I'm particularly looking forward to the Col de Turini stages on Sunday: these are unique stages and I've always had a very good feeling with them."
For PG Andersson, co-driven by Jonas Andersson, Monte Carlo will be his first-ever World Championship event in a World Rally Car. The young Swede has completed around 500 kilometres of testing with the SX4, so he still has to climb a steep learning curve. Nonetheless, the Monte Carlo Rally is not entirely new to him as he competed on the event in 2004 and 2005 with an Ignis Super 1600.
"I can't wait to get started!" said Andersson. "Obviously getting to the finish and gaining more experience will be the priority for me. Going from a Super 1600 car to a World Rally Car is quite a big jump as everything happens so much quicker. It's also important to get the pace notes right: there are some corners that you wouldn't even bother noting in a Super 1600 car but in a World Rally Car you really feel them."
"It's important for me to have a solid run in Monte Carlo, so that I can go into my home event - the Swedish Rally, which is next on the calendar - with a lot of confidence."
