The three Suzuki Swift Super 1600 drivers - Jaan Molder from Estonia, Michal Kosciuszko from Poland and Florian Niegel from Germany - have taken the ceremonial start of the Rally d'ItaliaSardegna, the third round of this year's Junior World Rally Championship. The cars of Molder and Kosciuszko are run by Suzuki Sport Europe, while Niegel's Swift is run by Suzuki Rallye Junior Team Germany.
The Suzuki Sport Europe drivers undertook a short test in Sardinia on Monday, in order to acclimatise to the unique conditions of the island. The weather forecast is uncertain, which means that the rough and rocky gravel roads are set to become even more broken up over the course of the event. All three cars completed the short shakedown stage this morning with no problems.

News from Jaan Molder (Suzuki Swift n.32):
"We had a good set-up already from the test on Monday, but at the shakedown we decided to use softer springs in order to improve the traction out of slow corners. I think this rally will turn into a real survival test; whoever finishes will win. So I'm going to drive with this very much in mind: it will be a question of maintaining a consistent pace whilst avoiding any unnecessary risks."

News from Michal Kosciuszko (Suzuki Swift n.35):
"We did about 30 kilometres of testing close to rally headquarters in Olbia, which was really useful. We used the same set-up on the shakedown, but just did an extra step with the dampers. I'm very happy with the car now. I think that in these sorts of difficult and muddy conditions that we could experience, the Suzuki Swift is definitely the best car to have as the traction is very good."

News from Florian Niegel (Suzuki Swift n.43):
"Unlike the other Suzuki drivers, I've not done a test and I've not competed here before, so I start already at a disadvantage. But this is no problem for me as it is only my second Junior World Rally Championship event and my principal goal is just to gain some more experience. This is going to be a very rough rally with some big stones, so prudence comes before speed."