The Brisbane-based Keema Suzuki Rally Team head to Townsville on July 12-13 for the North Queensland Forest Rally. The team will field three outwardly-identical Suzuki Balenos in North Queensland’s round 3 of the Queensland Rally Championships, and will likely be the only three-car team in the field.

The first of the Keema team is the 1.8 litre Suzuki Baleno GTX, crewed by Tony Kabel and Greg Tebble. The pair were the Queensland Rally Champions for class N3 in 1996, and currently lead that class again in the 1997 Championships. Kabel and Tebble hold 45.5 points in the Queensland Championships going into the Townsville event, currently running in outright fourth place, a scant 0.5 points outside the top three.

Second is the little brother of the Keema team, the 1.6 litre 1996 model Suzuki Baleno GL, competing in class N2 and crewed by Henry Ryman and Rod Biggar. Round 2 of the Championships saw the rally debut of the 1.6 litre Keema Baleno, and a class win in that event sees Ryman and Biggar leading class N2 of the 1997 Championships.

The third Keema team car is the 1996 Suzuki Baleno GTX of Rodney Cross and Alan Stean, running in class N3. Cross and Stean are both veterans of Queensland rallying, and are keen to show their speed in the North Queensland Forest Rally. The recent pairing of Cross and Stean will make a formidable combination in the Queensland N3 class.

The Suzuki Baleno is Suzuki’s latest foray into the small-medium car market, and is gaining credence with both private owners and rental fleet operators. The Balenos run by the Keema team run in showroom standard trim, as required by group N rally regulations, and their performance and finishing record in rallying are a testament to the sturdiness and reliability of the Suzuki model.

The Keema Automotive Group, one of Queensland’s largest automotive dealers, have been involved in rallying continuously for almost 40 years. The three-car 1997 Keema Suzuki Rally Team, with support from Brisbane’s Quick Fit Tyre Service and Castrol Lubricants, represents Keema’s largest assault yet on the Queensland Rally Championships.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page