Kimi's Column: One more year of age and speed

Kimi Rally Catalunya Preview

I had my birthday on Sunday. That means one more year of age – and hopefully some more spped, too. Well, let’s have a try. This weekend it’s time for the Rally Catalunya. Obviously, I don’t know how it goes, but it should suit us better than a couple of last rallies.

Me and my co-driver Kaj Lindstrom are heading there with a good feeling. My learning year will go on as usual, but, generally taken, this should be one of better rallies for me.

I hope it won’t be raining. It would be fantastic finally to get to the good and clean roads with the RedBull Citroen C4 WRC.

This is the same story again, but, for sure, the leaders get their usual advantage having done most of these stages so many times in previous years. But also Kaj has been there before and that should help us a little bit. In the end of the day you cannot use the old pace notes too much, but knowing the roads is a certain bonus where to build on.

We start the rally with the car we left in France, while we had no tests before going to Spain. Sebastien Loeb clinched his title in the last rally, but it doesn’t change that much the situation. Everybody tries to go as hard as they can and it will be tight in the front and will be tight in the group behind them.

The opening day has been changed, while it will be on gravel almost all the first special stages. How big change that is, I can’t tell, but one thing I know: it will give busy time for the engineers and mechanics while we have to change the set-up of the car so totally from gravel to asphalt.

But it won’t be any different driving for me. My target is the same like always: first to get a nice, good rhythm, then to keep the car in one piece all three days and then finish the rally without any major mistakes.

Last couple of rallies have not been that good for us. But it’’s useless to worry too much afterwards. The mistakes have been done and all I can do is to learn from them for the future. I know, sometimes such a minor error can cause on huge waste of time. But it’s up to experience to improve and that’s what I try to do all the time when I race.

Now we focus on this rally in Spain. I have always enjoyed it very much while I was with Formula INe in Barcelona. Let’s hope it will be a nice weekend there with WRC, too.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: _TaniaS_