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Showing posts with label Acropolis Rally. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acropolis Rally. Show all posts
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Points for Petter Solberg and Kimi Räikkönen
“I pushed really hard and gave it everything I had”
Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson set the early pace in Greece before finishing fourth on the Acropolis Rally, round seven of the FIA World Rally Championship. Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström proved to be increasingly competitive, finally finishing in seventh overall on the event. The two Citroën DS3 WRCs entered by Van Merksteijn Motorsport retired on the opening day of the rally.
Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson have been among the frontrunners since the start of the season, and they were the first to show their true form on the tricky Greek stages. They strung together four fastest stage times to occupy the top of the time sheets by the end of the first day of the Acropolis Rally on Friday.
Petter and Chris established an advantage of more than 50 seconds over the chasing trio that consisted of Sébastien Loeb, Mikko Hirvonen and Sébastien Ogier, but this consequently forced them into running first on the road throughout Saturday. The loose surface caused the crew some difficulties, but nonetheless the Petter Solberg World Rally Team duo managed to end the day on the provisional podium, just 20 seconds or so off the leaders. Petter Solberg fought against Mikko Hirvonen on the final day to end up fourth at the finish, scoring 12 precious championship points.
“I pushed really hard and gave it everything I had,” said the Norwegian. “I’m pleased with our performance and my driving as well as with the team, who all did a fantastic job. We couldn’t have done better; it just wasn’t possible. We’re a private team and we’re fighting against the factory outfits.”
Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström missed the previous two events, which were not on their programme, but they were soon back into the groove from the very beginning. By the end of the opening day they were 10th despite a puncture. They then picked up their pace throughout Saturday to make progress up the leaderboard and claim seventh place on SS8. The Ice 1 Racing crew showed their consistency to hold onto the position until the end, having managed their rally perfectly.
“We weren’t the quickest out there but our goal was to steer clear of problems in order to be there at the end,” said the Finnish driver. “The final two days in Greece were extremely satisfying. It’s a great result for us before heading to Rally Finland.”
The two Citroën DS3 WRCs entered by Van Merksteijn Motorsport did not make it to the end of the opening day. Peter van Merksteijn Jr went off the road on SS3. His co-driver Eddy Chevaillier was taken to hospital in Lamia and then airlifted to Athens for further medical examination. He has a fracture and a crack in his lumbar vertebrae, which will mean that he needs to be immobilised for about 10 days. The entire Citroën Racing team wishes him a full and swift recovery. Peter van Merskteijn Sr went off the road in the team’s other DS3 WRC on SS5.
Source: Nextgen-Auto
Courtesy: Kriss
Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson set the early pace in Greece before finishing fourth on the Acropolis Rally, round seven of the FIA World Rally Championship. Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström proved to be increasingly competitive, finally finishing in seventh overall on the event. The two Citroën DS3 WRCs entered by Van Merksteijn Motorsport retired on the opening day of the rally.Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson have been among the frontrunners since the start of the season, and they were the first to show their true form on the tricky Greek stages. They strung together four fastest stage times to occupy the top of the time sheets by the end of the first day of the Acropolis Rally on Friday.
Petter and Chris established an advantage of more than 50 seconds over the chasing trio that consisted of Sébastien Loeb, Mikko Hirvonen and Sébastien Ogier, but this consequently forced them into running first on the road throughout Saturday. The loose surface caused the crew some difficulties, but nonetheless the Petter Solberg World Rally Team duo managed to end the day on the provisional podium, just 20 seconds or so off the leaders. Petter Solberg fought against Mikko Hirvonen on the final day to end up fourth at the finish, scoring 12 precious championship points.
“I pushed really hard and gave it everything I had,” said the Norwegian. “I’m pleased with our performance and my driving as well as with the team, who all did a fantastic job. We couldn’t have done better; it just wasn’t possible. We’re a private team and we’re fighting against the factory outfits.”
Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström missed the previous two events, which were not on their programme, but they were soon back into the groove from the very beginning. By the end of the opening day they were 10th despite a puncture. They then picked up their pace throughout Saturday to make progress up the leaderboard and claim seventh place on SS8. The Ice 1 Racing crew showed their consistency to hold onto the position until the end, having managed their rally perfectly.
“We weren’t the quickest out there but our goal was to steer clear of problems in order to be there at the end,” said the Finnish driver. “The final two days in Greece were extremely satisfying. It’s a great result for us before heading to Rally Finland.”
The two Citroën DS3 WRCs entered by Van Merksteijn Motorsport did not make it to the end of the opening day. Peter van Merksteijn Jr went off the road on SS3. His co-driver Eddy Chevaillier was taken to hospital in Lamia and then airlifted to Athens for further medical examination. He has a fracture and a crack in his lumbar vertebrae, which will mean that he needs to be immobilised for about 10 days. The entire Citroën Racing team wishes him a full and swift recovery. Peter van Merskteijn Sr went off the road in the team’s other DS3 WRC on SS5.
Source: Nextgen-Auto
Courtesy: Kriss
Video: Kimi Räikkönen SS18 Power Stage at Acropolis Rally 2011
Kimi Räikkönen during SS18 Power Stage at Acropolis Rally Greece 2011
Source: Anelise30
Courtesy: _TaniaS_
Source: Anelise30
Courtesy: _TaniaS_
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Ex-boss surprised Kimi Räikkönen
Meeting Jean Todt in rally circles got Kimi to melt into a sweet smile.
The buddies met on Saturday afternoon in Loutraki during service, when Jean Todt went to see the drivers before they went to the stages.
Kimi who is usually very quiet in his own company, was clearly happy when Jean came to ask how he is doing.
Räikkönen was explaining a lot about how his rally had went to Todt, who again seemed to be all ears when listening to Kimi.
Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole
Friday, June 17, 2011
Räikkönen commits to WRC
By Anthony Peacock
Despite a troubled start to the Acropolis Rally, which included a handling problem and a puncture, former Grand Prix World Champion Kimi Räikkönen is convinced that he is making solid progress in the sport – and his immediate future is committed to the World Rally Championship. As well as driving in the World Rally Championship, Raikkonen is trying out selected NASCAR outings this year.
But the Finn insists that the World Rally Championship remains his priority, and he is looking forward to the full programme that he is set to tackle between now and the end of the year. “I still enjoy rally a lot; this is what I am focussing on,” he said. “Of course it’s not so easy when you have difficult days but you have to expect this sometimes. If it was easy, it would not be the same challenge.” Räikkönen is currently 10th on the Acropolis Rally: less than 10 seconds behind Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala, who encountered a front differential problem on the final stage of the day.
Thanks to the rotation rules, Acropolis is one of the many events that Räikkönen has not yet tackled. Next the 2007 F1 Champion will compete on his native Rally Finland, following the WRC’s summer break. “Finland should be good for us,” he said. “It will be nice for us to get back to a rally we know a bit.”
Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: luieluv
Despite a troubled start to the Acropolis Rally, which included a handling problem and a puncture, former Grand Prix World Champion Kimi Räikkönen is convinced that he is making solid progress in the sport – and his immediate future is committed to the World Rally Championship. As well as driving in the World Rally Championship, Raikkonen is trying out selected NASCAR outings this year.But the Finn insists that the World Rally Championship remains his priority, and he is looking forward to the full programme that he is set to tackle between now and the end of the year. “I still enjoy rally a lot; this is what I am focussing on,” he said. “Of course it’s not so easy when you have difficult days but you have to expect this sometimes. If it was easy, it would not be the same challenge.” Räikkönen is currently 10th on the Acropolis Rally: less than 10 seconds behind Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala, who encountered a front differential problem on the final stage of the day.
Thanks to the rotation rules, Acropolis is one of the many events that Räikkönen has not yet tackled. Next the 2007 F1 Champion will compete on his native Rally Finland, following the WRC’s summer break. “Finland should be good for us,” he said. “It will be nice for us to get back to a rally we know a bit.”
Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: luieluv
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