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DATE |
SS1 |
SS2 |
SS3 |
SS4 |
SS5 |
SS6 |
SS7 |
SS8 |
SS9 |
SS10 |
TOTAL |
10/26(fri) |
9.03 |
13.95 |
26.03 |
2.73 |
9.03 |
13.95 |
26.03 |
2.73 |
1.35 |
1.35 |
106.18km |
Leg information:
Stages: 10 (106.18kms competitive total)
Surface: gravel
Weather: Frosty in the morning then rain in the afternoon, temperatures of around 10 degrees.
Estonian Urmo Aava, competing on his first Rally Japan with the Junior Championship-winning Suzuki Swift Super 1600, had no major problems today on the opening 10 stages of the all-gravel event despite some extremely tough conditions.
The weather was foggy in the morning, but this soon gave way to cloudy conditions and rain in the afternoon. Today's stages were mostly fast, but contained a wide variety of road conditions to test drivers and cars to the utmost. Urmo took a little bit of time to get used to the unique Japanese stages and his road position some way down the field, but the Estonian soon adapted himself to the correct rhythm to end up in 23rd place overnight - just a minute away from the top 15!
Urmo's task was to demonstrate Suzuki's title-winning car to the enthusiastic Japanese public, but being a two-wheel drive machine the Swift Super 1600 started behind all the four-wheel drive World Rally Cars and Group N cars on the Rally Japan - which does not count for the Junior Championship. This meant that the roads were rough and rutted by the time the Suzuki crew drove them, making life difficult for Urmo and his co-driver Kuldar Sikk. Nonetheless, they lead the two-wheel drive classes comfortably - and look set to beat many much more powerful four-wheel drive cars!
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Urmo Aava (EE):
"So far, I'm really enjoying my experience of the Rally Japan. It is a very nice rally but also one that is extremely challenging. The biggest difficulty for me has been starting so far down the order, behind all the Group N cars as well. The roads here are quite soft and muddy, and this means that they cut up quite badly. Not only did we struggle for traction sometimes, but we also had to take care to avoid some big rocks that were pulled out by the four-wheel drive cars. It was important to avoid punctures, but luckily we were able to keep out of trouble and bring the car back in one piece. I'm looking forward to finding out more about this fascinating event tomorrow and I'm very pleased by the pace we can have without taking too many risks."
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Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima, Suzuki team principal:
"Urmo has done exactly the right thing today which is to drive carefully through the stages and look after the car despite the tough conditions. There was some bad weather and big rocks: this is all part of the challenge of Rally Japan! I am pleased that he is enjoying himself, and I am sure that everybody is enjoying seeing the Swift Super 1600 as well. He needs to continue like this tomorrow and Saturday, to bring the car to the finish. If he concentrates carefully on doing this, I am sure he can have an impressive result."
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Hokkaido, Japan
UTC +9
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