Suzuki satisfied with debut rally

The Japanese manufacturer's first World Rally Car was classified 31st after suffering mechanical problems on all three legs, but when running healthily set similar stage times to Stobart Ford's Henning Solberg, who finished ninth.

The team had always billed the event as a public test session, and driver Nicolas Bernardi said the rally had proved very useful.

"We've been able to confirm a number of things we have discovered from our previous test programme and formulate some very clear ideas about the right direction for the future," he said.

Team boss Nobuhiro Tajima was also satisfied.

"We're very pleased to get our all-new car to the finish of this event, which was our main objective here," he said.

"Today's hydraulic problem was a small inconvenience, but it is all part of the process of testing. This experience has taught us a lot, and we now have several ideas about how we will work on fine-tuning the development of our car."

Suzuki will now miss the next two rounds in Japan and Ireland before returning for the season-ending Rally GB and the full 2008 championship.