Suzuki's First On Gravel

The new Suzuki SX4 WRC is making its gravel debut this weekend at Wales Rally GB, its second appearance of the 2007 FIA World Rally Championship.

Like in Corsica, the team's priority will be to get to the finish in order to continue the SX4 WRC's development programme on gravel.

The man in charge of driving the car this time is Finland's Sebastian Lindholm who will put emphasis on testing and car set-up over all three days of the event as the team gears up for its first full WRC campaign in 2008.

Lindholm, a seven-time Finnish Rally Champion, has been driving the SX4 for most of the year during the car's gravel tests. The last time he competed in Wales Rally GB was in 1998, where he finished fifth overall.

"I feel very pleased that I'm going to create a bit of history by driving the SX4 WRC on its first gravel rally! So far, our performance in testing has been promising but there's still quite a lot of work to do and that is why we are here on Rally Great Britain," said Lindstrom.

"I like the car a lot, but I can think of some ways to improve it further and I will be trying those ideas out on the rally. It's been a little while since I have competed on this event, so I am going to make sure we get to the finish above everything else. I always have a very good feeling on gravel and I am sure we will do a lot of useful work here. That will be the key thing, rather than the overall result."