Räikkönen tells about NASCAR plans

Kimi Räikkönen returned to WRC in Greece, finishing seventh in the classic Acropolis rally. On May the Finn made a short foray to North America and NASCAR, where he raced at Charlotte in the Trucks and the prestigeous Nationwide series' GPs. Regarding NASCAR, Räikkönen's option are still open.

- No decision has been made, nor do I know when to make the decision, Räikkönen commented to Sport Content.

On July Räikkönen will be testing his Citroën WRC car in Finland and prior
to that, will take some time off.

Asked what he'll be doing for holidays, Räikkönen was as taciturn as ever.

- Nothing.

His co-driver Kai Lindström said Räikkönen enjoyed the Acropolis rally.

- Sunday was OK. There were a few demanding stages, but we weren't in a hurry since we just tried to secure our position. Power Stage was fun. Even on Saturday driving in the dark was OK, though the dust was a problem, commented Lindström.

- Fortunately we get to Jyväskylä -Rally Finland next. A short break and then
a little testing, he continued.

Source: RacingNewsFlash

Photos: Kimi Räikkönen at Acropolis Rally Greece 2011

Photos of Kimi Räikkönen during the Acropolis Rally Greece 2011





















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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_

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

Special interview with Kimi Räikkönen

Kimi Räikkönen returned to the wheel of WRC car at Greece, when the rally started at Friday. Earlier, Kimi had time to give interview for RacingNewsFlash.com

Kimi admits that visit at Nascar-series refreshed because after long time the F1 world champion was able to fight against others on the track. Räikkönen didn't know yet how his career at Nascar will continue. Next race after rally Greece will be rally Finland at the end of July.

Visiting at Nascar-series is now behind. How did it feel to be back in to the rally car?

- Pretty normal. We already had some test at France. Nothing special. There didn't happen anything special on the test. I was only doing some driving and getting used to drive rally again. We did only a bit of set-up there but nothing special as I said. Normal test.

What are you expecting about the rally of this weekend, Greece?

- This is again a one new rally for me. We just try to drive the stages well and as fast as we can. It will not be as easy than in earlier rallies, because I don't know anything about the stages.

How are things after Greece, will you go back to Nascar?

- I am not sure yet. Maybe I will do something yet but I haven't made any decisions yet. Finnish rally will be the next event for me.

How did Nascar feel?

- It was very different. I was not expecting for anything special because I didn't know what kind of it will be. It was nice to race with people on track after couple years. It was funny and very different than rally. There was very easy-going and it was everything about a show. So, it was funny and very good experience.

Is Nascar something wich you would like to do more?

- Most amazing on it was that you can fight against other drivers. There are so many cars on the track. On WRC, you drive against the clock, so it was nice to drive and fight against others on track. It was cool and the system is very different compared to rally. Let's see.

Now there are two races behind Nascarm at Camping World Truck and Nationwide. Will you also try the highest stage, Sprint Car Cup?

- I don't know, let's see what will happen there. It's about many things. But it would be nice to try Sprint Car Cup too.

In Helsinki there will be rally show by Citroën. What do you think, there will be lots of people out of there for sure?

- There was a similar show at Portugal last year. For the crew specially it was fun. I don't know what kind of road there will be at Helsinki.But for sure it will be great. I heard about this only some time ago. I don't know yet how long will it be.

Source: RacingnNewsFlash.com
Courtesy: luieluv

Kimi's Column: TO THE TOUGHEST RALLY

Kimi Acropolis rally preview in Finnish

We had a break from the rally business for a couple of months. When driving the tests in France with Kaitsu it felt like I hadn't been gone at all. The test went well and we got right away a good feeling in the car. It was good preparation for this rally in Greece since we even got the car better.

Greece is a new place to me and the gang says that it's the toughest rally for the car. Therefore the biggest challenge will be to get the equipment to the finish line in one piece.

I mean, this isn't the first rally where it's hot with rocky and dusty roads like here. We had a tough route in Jordan too and there the car survived the beating completely fine. It's completely new that we will now go fast on Saturday-night during darkness.

We have been in three rallies this year. One can be completely satisfied since we have each time finished the rally and scored points. Since the goal has been to learn more each time, we have succeeded in it and developed as much as possible.

It's nice when you see that the notes get better each time.

Since everything went well in the tests it's easy to come back to this car.

We have good feelings to start pulling, although we are taking these routes for the first time. Our goals haven't changed at all. We will do our best so that we avoid big mistakes and can pull the whole race in a good speed all the way to the finish line.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: Nicole

Räikkönen set for tough WRC return

Kimi Räikkönen has said that he his delighted to be back competing in the World Rally Championship after missing the last two events but conceded he will face a tough test when he competes on the Acropolis Rally for the first time

The ex-Formula One world champion will take part on the gruelling gravel event in his Ice 1 Racing Citroën DS3 WRC with co-driver Kaj Lindstrom. Räikkönen was still driving for Ferrari in Formula One grands prix when Greece last hosted a round of the WRC in 2009.

“It’s nice to get back in a rally but the stages look quite difficult, especially for the first time but we’ll see how it goes,” said the 31-year-old. “It’s a new place with new stages - that’s the most difficult thing for us.”

Asked what result he was aiming for in Greece, Räikkönen said: “This rally will be difficult for the first time but all the time we improve and it’s got better. I don’t expect to be as strong as the last rally [in Jordan] here because it’s a new place but it’s nice to get back driving again.”

Like his rivals, Räikkönen faces the prospect of tackling Friday’s six stages with only a remote service halt to make any repairs. However, he is determined not to let that fact play on his mind when the event’s first stage goes live at 09:08hrs local time on Friday.

“We do the best we can,” he said. “If something happens we try to fix it. I don’t worry about it. If you can fix [any problems] you always try but it really depends on what happens to the car and if it happens. It’s more the luck if something breaks or not breaks. If it happens you try to deal with it. Hopefully we can run without any problems but the car has been working well on all the rallies so I am not really worried about something going wrong.”

Source: WRC

Räikkönen returns to rallying

Kimi Räikkönen will return to World Rally Championship duty in Greece next week, almost two months after he made his last appearance in the series in Jordan, where he finished sixth in his Ice 1 Racing Citroen DS3 WRC

Since then the ex-Formula One world champion has made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut, finishing 15th at Charlotte, a result he followed up by claiming 27th on his first appearance in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at the same venue one week later.

Räikkönen has yet to compete on the Loutraki-based Acropolis Rally and will be braced for a tough test on the punishing gravel stages. He spent today (Wednesday) reacclimatising to the rigours of driving his turbocharged Citroen on gravel roads during a test near Marseille in the south of France where he covered approximately 150 kilometres.

Benoit Nogier, who manages the Citroen Racing Technologies operation, the company responsible for running Raikkonen’s DS3 WRC, spoke to Wrc.com following the test. He said: “We were very happy with his performance in Jordan and he has a good opportunity for Greece. We found a road with a condition as close as possible to Greece and Kimi was quite happy. It will be a tough rally, not necessarily for the drivers but for the cars. The first day is very long with only a remote service but Kimi is not a rookie anymore and will be able to manage this situation.”

Räikkönen, who is co-driven by fellow Finn Kaj Lindstrom, will be anxious to kick start his promising 2011 WRC campaign in Greece after skipping the last two rounds in Italy and Argentina. He had described his performance on the Jordan Rally in mid-April as his best in the series so far and would have equalled his career-best fifth place but for a late puncture.

“The driving has been better and we’re pushing harder now,” Räikkönen was quoted as saying recently. “My only target really is to improve in the WRC.”

The Acropolis Rally will mark the fourth of Räikkönen’s planned 10 appearances in the WRC. He’s currently ninth in the drivers’ standings on 18 points. Ice 1 Racing is sixth in the manufacturers’ standings with 26 points.

Source: WRC