SUZUKI LEADS A THRILLING FIGHT IN SARDINIA!

Suzuki Sport Europe driver Michal Kosciuszko is in the thick of the fight for the Junior World Rally Championship victory in Sardinia, finishing the second day of the rally leading the class by just half a second over his nearest rival. The young Pole claimed the lead on SS9 this morning, and although he lost it on the penultimate stage of the day, he grabbed it back in the very last test.
With such a tough fight for supremacy, the final day of the rally tomorrow is all set for a thrilling conclusion.
Unfortunately, the other two Suzuki Swift drivers - Jaan Molder from Estonia and Florian Niegel from Germany - have not been so lucky. Molder, run by Suzuki Sport Europe, was forced to retire before the midday service halt as the result of the engine losing all its oil, while Niegel was out after rolling his Swift Super 1600 run by Suzuki Rallye Junior Team Germany on the opening stage of the day. Niegel will not be able to re-start the final day as the damage was too extensive, but Molder's car will be assessed at service with a view to starting again tomorrow.
The final day of the rally will take place over five stages, totalling 78.57 competitive kilometres.

News from Jaan Molder (Suzuki Swift n.32):
"I had a good feeling today because I like today's stages, so what happened is a real shame. I don't think I hit anything hard, but that's rallying sometimes and I'm very disappointed that I could not finish the day. I think the team will be able to get me out again under the super rally rules tomorrow: obviously I can't score points but it's a good opportunity for me to gather experience and test for Finland."

News from Michal Kosciuszko (Suzuki Swift n.35):
"It's been a very exciting day, and I'm really enjoying such an amazing fight for the lead of the category. The car has been very good today, but the driver has made a couple of mistakes! It's very hard to judge the right braking point as the grip is so inconsistent: some of the time you get it right and then other times the whole thing is wrong. But we've avoided any really big moments, which is good. We were a bit high over some of the jumps, but I'm pushing quite hard. The plan is very simple: we want to win the Junior category here."

News from Florian Niegel (Suzuki Swift n.43):
"Unfortunately we rolled in the first stage of the day and retired. In a fast left corner after a jump our front-left suspension broke. The car then got out of control and we rolled twice. Thanks to the very good safety of our Swift Super 1600 we are fine. Nevertheless we are really sad because our plan for the day was to drive consistently without too much risk. Now we're forced just to watch the stages as spectators."