Suzuki finishes the 2008 season on a high

The Suzuki World Rally Team has finished its debut World Rally Championship season with the SX4 WRC on a high note, equalling the team's best-ever result. Up-and-coming Swede P-G Andersson was fifth at the end of the Wales Rally GB, matching the result he obtained on Rally Japan last month.

Toni Gardemeister was seventh, ensuring that the team placed both cars in the drivers' and manufacturers' points for the second consecutive event. It was a very positive conclusion to a season that has seen Suzuki steadily climb a steep learning curve, underlining the SX4 WRC's pace and reliability.

The final day of Wales Rally GB consisted of two loops of two stages totalling 96.10 kilometres, with a service at Swansea in between. The finish, watched by thousands of fans, took place in the Welsh capital of Cardiff. With temperatures that dipped as low as minus six degrees centigrade overnight, there was plenty of frost and ice on the roads. Nonetheless, neither driver put a foot wrong in the tricky conditions. Andersson was able to maintain the fifth place that he started the day on, while Gardemeister made up one position to finish seventh.

Suzuki World Rally Team Director Shusuke Inagaki: "Wales Rally Great Britain is renowned for providing an extremely tough challenge, but conditions this year have been even worse than anticipated. Nonetheless, our cars have been extremely reliable and our drivers have kept them on the road. As a result, we have once more brought both the SX4 WRCs home in the points without problems for the second consecutive time. This is a sign of the very real progress we have made, and I would like to thank everybody in the team for all their efforts over the course of the season."