We posted that Capirossi was taking part in the Suzuki sponsored Tempest rally and Swift Sport Cup, and Loris managed to push his Suzuki Swift to third place in the Swift Sport Cup, and ninth position overall in the two-wheel drive section of the Tempest Rally

Loris Capirossi:

“It has been a great day and it was really fun to do the rally. I took my time in the early stages as I got used to driving on the loose surfaces and in the forests, it was certainly very different from the wide-open tracks that I am used to in MotoGP! As I got more confident with the car my times improved and I was able to go a lot quicker and I think if we could have done a couple more stages I might have caught the leader, but I am really pleased with third in my first rally. It was a shame that Paul crashed out, because I think our times were very close and it would have been good to have had that extra bit of competition with him, but I think I would have beaten him anyway! I want to say a big thank-you to Craig for some great co-driving and to the organisers for putting on such a good day, plus thanks to Suzuki for inviting me to take part in the event and giving me this opportunity to drive the fantastic Suzuki Swift in a rally.”

Paul Denning:

“The first thing I want to say is thank-you to everybody at Suzuki GB and the UK Rally Team for all their support and allowing us to take part and have such fun in the amazing Group N Swift. The car surpassed all expectations in terms of performance and especially strength. It was really rough out there today and the cars got a thorough workout and the performance never dropped off at all throughout the day. With Loris, I suppose it was slightly inevitable that one of us was going to crash trying to beat the other, and I think it was even more inevitable that it was going to be me! It was quite surprising – considering our lack of experience – that we were able to run so competitively and I think this is a testament to the experience of Jemma and Craig – our co-drivers – that certainly helped us all day long. Loris and I were very close to each other early on but I made a mistake and slid off the road so I wasn’t able to complete the whole rally – which was a great shame – but thanks to Ian Phillipson of the Swift Sport Cup and the rally organisers I was able to get back out for the afternoon stages and restore a bit of pride, so that made things a bit better. Well done to Loris for his podium position, it’s a good end to 2008 and I hope we taste some more champagne on two wheels in 2009!”

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