Suzuki maintains top 10 position on the toughest day of the season
It has been a day of mixed fortunes for the Suzuki World Rally Team. At one stage, both SX4 WRCs of P-G Andersson and Toni Gardemeister were inside the top 10, with Andersson was running sixth after an agonisingly tough second run through the Agii Theodori test. The second day of this Acropolis Rally had been billed as one of the toughest of the year so far. It certainly lived up to that, with cars succumbing to the searing heat and exceptionally twisty and rocky roads. Andersson failed to finish the day after his SX4 WRC hit suspension trouble in the day's penultimate test. Gardemeister battled on to ensure Suzuki retained a presence inside the top 10 as this harshest of rallies moved into the final day.

Car news - Suzuki SX4 WRC n.11 (Gardemeister), n.12 (Andersson):
Toni Gardemeister's car was hit with a power steering fault on the final stage of the morning. The car then lost power in the afternoon due to damage sustained to the exhaust system. Andersson's car had run well through the morning. The trouble set-in for the Swede on the second run through the Pissia test, where he joined the long list of drivers whose cars were sidelined by suspension trouble caused by the extremely harsh stage conditions.

Driver news:
Toni Gardemeister: "The day was tough. After we had made some good progress with the engine this morning, we had a problem in the afternoon which took some of the power away, but we're here and ready to push on to the finish tomorrow."

P-G Andersson: "I was really pleased with this morning. The car was running well, and I was able to push a little bit. This afternoon's suspension problems were a real shame. We'd come through the longest and roughest stage sixth overall and things were looking really good. It just shows what a tough event this one is. But we will be back on track again tomorrow."

Team news:
Paul Wilding, Suzuki World Rally Team manager: "This rally doesn't have its tough reputation for nothing. We discovered that today. Both P-G and Toni were setting good, consistent stage times earlier this morning, but then these roads have hit back. Like many of our competitors who have suffered similar trouble, we have been caught by the exceptionally rough conditions. On a positive note, Toni has completed the second day and remains on-course to achieve our objective of getting the SX4 WRC to the finish of what is undoubtedly the most technically difficult rally of the season. Both of our cars are set to score points in the manufacturers' championship and that's what we came for."

Day 2 Leaderboard
1. S Loeb/D Elena F Citroën C4 2h48m11.1s
2. P Solberg/P Mills N Subaru Impreza +28.7s
3. H Solberg/C Menkerud N Ford Focus RS +1m05.3s
4. M Hirvonen/J Lehtinen FIN Ford Focus RS +3m01.2s
5. U Aava/K Sikk EE Citroën C4 +4m11.6s
6. M Wilson/S Martin GB Ford Focus RS +4m22.8s
7. D Sordo/M Marti E Citroën C4 +5m33.6s
8. J-M Latvala/M Attila FIN Ford Focus RS +8m51.3s
9. C Rautenbach/D Senior ZW Citroën C4 +8m58.0s
10. T Gardemeister/T Tuominen Fin Suzuki SX4 +9m13.0s

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