Kimi's Column: SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM

Kimi Rally de Portugal preview in Finnish

I was left with good feelings from Rally Sweden. It went better the second time than it went last year. It will be interesting now to see how it goes for us this weekend.

In Portugal, now that we are driving there for the second time also.

I remember the roads from last year. It's really a very challenging place. You have to drive precisely according to the note with your tongue right in the middle of your mouth because you have stones and stumps ahead of you and behind you. What is new is that the rally starts from Lissabon and there is also a completely new stage on the route.

This is our first rally on gravel with this car. I like the car. It's sort of more handy and it fits better in my hand.
As a gravel rally Portugal is one of the most trickiest when your have to twist and turn all the time. I think that only Jordan is a wee bit more worse than Portugal beause the roads in Jordan are so slippery all way long.

Last week we had one testing day in France. I got a good feeling of it. We fixed the setups a bit and got a good feeling of the car. In that sense it's cool to go to a race again.

The others got a bit of leverage because we didn't go to Mexico. They have now more experience of these new cars. Of course Portugal is a completely different place than Mexico. We are on Europe's side and the air isn't as thin as it is there in the mountains. We get to use all the powers and it's always cool to get everything out of a car.

The goals are the same as they were in Sweden: We try to drive as fast as we can and avoid bigger blunders. It went well in the first rally and if it goes well again then we should get a good result.

The learning continues. We have to drive precisely during the weekend and get the notes to hit in place.

Lets wait and see how it goes this time.

Source: KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM
Courtesy: Nicole

Raikkonen "knew that it would be difficult"

Kimi Raikkonen scored his first WRC points in Jordan and Turkey. The Finn knows he's progressing but remains aware of the gap separating him from the best

Kimi Räikkönen, in his fourth rally with the Citroen Junior Team, during last weekend in Turkey, made his first top 5. A beautiful performance for the F1 World Champion 2007, pleased to see his progress race after race. "I'm getting better everywhere," he acknowledges to AUTOhebdo this week. "You know very well what are the steps! Everything happens at once. Little by little, everything seems both better and easier. "

However, the Finn knows he still lacks the level of attack that his car provides him. To progress, Kimi Raikkonen has decided not to take risks, a strategy that allowed him to score his first points. "What counts is to accumulate kilometres, to be at the finish line. The points are the consequence. Their number depends on the race events that affected the best drivers. In Jordan, I found the specials so difficult that I have never taken risks. My points were due to simply being at the finish. In Turkey, it was not quite the same thing. I simply tried to drive. Then I was able to regularly take on Villagra and Wilson. This is not the "top" yet, but it's some satisfaction."

However, the Finn faced severe difficulties, as in the Rally of Jordan, where the complexity of the surface forced him to go at a modest pace."Jordan, I found it horrible. The roads are blind, and tortuous. I felt lost. I really wanted to be at the finish and for this to happen, I had no other choice but to be slow. "

Kimi Raikkonen thus learns step by step, in a discipline that he discover with every kilometre. "I knew it would be difficult. It's not worse than what I expected. Except in Jordan. There, I really suffered." But, as he remains lucid, the Finn is nonetheless ambitious. "I know the depth of the gap that separates me from the top. I know that I have just succeeded in getting intermediate lap times comparably to theirs. All I have left is to multiply these moments. I'm progressing, but fifth, six minutes behind, it's not what I want. "

Source: Autohebdo.fr
Translation from French: Fran

ONE STEP MORE READY

Text by Marko Mäkinen

8th position and four championship-points. No other Finnish sportsman has ever been able to score championship-points in both F1 and WRC. Kimi Räikkönen has - and there's more to come.

Despite all the unrealistic expectations the media has created Kimi Räikkönen has been able to get through all three WRC-rallies almost excellently. He has now his first championship-points in the pocket although Räikkönen himself expected to score points in the autumn at earliest.

He has made mistakes and that hasn't surprised anyone, not even Kimi himself. Rally is a brutal sport where you don't get back on the road after a driving mistake. Whereas in F1 you can make an error with the driving line which will take you over the borders or at the most to the safety-area in rally again a similar judgement error creates a six-volt rolling roulette which can end the whole race like Kimi got to experience in Mexico.

Long working days came as a surprise

Of course Räikkönen was able to prepare himself beforehand for almost everything but one thing surprised even him: when it comes to time the WRC is like the Army for Officers and the F1 again the Civil Alternative Service. In rally you sleep and eat when you have time, the alarm clock goes off at 5 a.m. after which you sit in the race car for five days until the sun goes down (recce included). It's those long racing days that brought back the backpains from a couple of old F1-races that you cannot treat in anyway in rally.

Also the change of the daily routine hindered the F1-star's concentration. Kimi was used to taking refreshing naps on the F1-paddock but in rally you cannot do the same. When a 10 year old routine suddenly changes like this it cannot help but affect the vigor.

Kimi is not a quitter

With Räikkönen's performance and development it isn't a question of speed or lack of talent, it's about enhancing these into a complete ability to perform in the most efficient possible way.

Yet Kimi hasn't even once regretted his decision to switch over to rally. You can see from everything that rally is exactly what he wants to do at the moment. If Räikkönen would have a quitter's nature or if he would be satisfied with the first good feeling then he surely would have stepped right in the helicopter in Rally Sweden when he drove in the snowbank but instead he started shoveling with a small plastic shovel to get his car out of the bank and continued his race after working for half an hour.

Kimi's main goal this season has been to finish rallies and drive as fast as possible. Other quarters have set harder result goals but Räikkönen has wisely stated that 'if you can't finish the rally then it's useless to put any other goals for yourself'.

In Jordan Räikkönen dropped his pace to a safety-level so that he could finish the rally. It was a professional man's humble performance to drive for the end result and it brought good starting points to lift up his own pace in the next rallies so that it's more closer to the topdrivers.

KIMI DRIVES WITH LOEB'S SETUPS

Kimi Räikkönen made his WRC-career's first big decision during Rally Sweden's first service break when he changed his setups so that they matched Sébastien Loeb's. With this decision Kimi wanted to concentrate more on driving from the notes and put the car's setup-matters at the side.

Loeb's suspension- and power transmission -setups don't naturally go along with Räikkönen's driving style but he humbly decided to learn a new driving style. Period.

The learning still goes on. Räikkönen made the only exception for Jordan's first stage where his starting position was 10th. They expected the road to be cleaned of rocks and sand before Kimi's turn came, that's why Citroen's suspension was changed into a remarkably harder one than the others had. This decision turned out to be completely wrong: The road's surface was even more slippery than it was for the first cars so it wasn't any wonder that Kimi said after the stages that it was his motorsporting career's most difficult and challenging race.

After the trial Räikkönen went back to Loeb's suspension estimations and he will trust them in the future too.

Source: Vauhdin Maailma
Courtesy: Nicole

KIMI: WHAT IS FOR SURE IS THAT I LIKE CHALLENGES

Kimi Räikkönen's next WRC-rally is in Turkey

The rally is the 3rd rally on gravel in Räikkönen's career. Therefore the man hasn't got too much of experience. Fortunately Räikkönen has never feared challenges.

- I guess it's a good thing that I like challenges because there's a big challenge ahead of me again, Räikkönen talked.

- IMO Jordan's rally was the most difficult so far but I have no idea what it's like in Turkey.

- The number one goal is to finish the rally because it's a completely new race. But because I'm a competitive person I always want to drive as good as I can.

Kaj Lindström believes that Turkey will suit Kimi better

- I don't really know what we can expect but according to my information the stages are pretty fast and the roads are wide. I think they suit Kimi well, Lindström thinks.

- My only concern is the risk for rain. It's the same for everybody but rain would make the surface extremely slippery which wouldn't be that nice.

An even rally in Jordan made Räikkönen happy even though his pace suffered a bit.

- In Jordan we found a safe pace which isn't necessarily the most exciting thing in the world but at least we finished the rally and scored points, Räikkönen tells.

Source: Iltalehti - MTV3 - Courtesy: Nicole

TURKEY! NEW HORIZON FOR KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN - PLUS 3 QUESTIONS...

Just 10 days after the finish of the Jordan Rally, the Citroën Junior Team goes to Turkey for the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and Red Bull backed Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström will drive his Citroën C4 WRC on this new event based close to Istanbul.

A few days after the Jordan Rally, the Citroën Junior Team embarks on one of the three brand new events scheduled for the 2010 season. Prior to Bulgaria and Alsace, the team will contest the all-new Rally Turkey, based in Pendik on the outskirts of Istanbul. The event will take place on two continents with a start ceremony outside the Hagia Sophia mosque and stages on the Asian side of the Bosphorus River.

In total, 12% of the 358.84 kilometres scheduled will be on asphalt. During the second day, the 18.17- kilometre Göçbeyli stage (SS10 and SS14) will feature 13.49 kilometres of asphalt. The final section of Bozhane (SS12 and SS16) is on asphalt as well, and parts of the Riva and Ballica stages are also run partly on sealed surfaces.

Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström scored their first WRC points in Jordan by finishing eighth overall. “It was important to get to the finish of this particularly difficult event,” said the former Grand Prix champion. “It was only my eighth-ever rally, but also the most difficult one I have seen so far.”

In Turkey, the Finnish crew will face another totally new route and surface. “I’ve no real idea of what to expect from the stages in Turkey. We’re going to need to do a lot of work during the recce in order to start off the rally well. Our goal is to be at the finish again, and to gradually reduce the gap to the other WRC drivers.”

Three questions to… Kimi Räikkönen

You scored your first points in the World Championship in Jordan. Is this a first objective achieved this season?

“My only aim on my third WRC event with the C4 was just to reach the finish in Jordan. We saw particularly difficult road conditions with very specialised stages, which were extremely slippery and had very few reference points. The first day was definitely the hardest one I have ever contested throughout my short career in rallying. So I was really pleased to get through all these hazards and not to make any big mistakes. We weren’t particularly quick but this is just a phase we have to go through in order to make progress.”

How do you see your progress at the wheel of the Citroen C4 WRC?

The terrain in Jordan was very difficult to Mexico. Over in Mexico, I felt quite confident. So I decided to push a little bit harder and then I went off. In Jordan, we decided to stay at a safe pace in order to be sure of getting to the finish. But I learn more about the Citroën C4 WRC and how to drive it with every kilometre. At the end of each stage, I have the feeling that I’ve learned a bit more. I’m beginning to feel more comfortable, and perhaps most importantly of all, I’m really enjoying myself in the WRC!”

These kilometers in Jordan they allow you to address the Rally of Turkey with more confidence?

“Once more, we’re going to be discovering a very different environment in Turkey. The experience is coming to us step by step, but each rally is new. Once more, the goal is to be there at the finish. We’ll see where we are at after the start of the rally and if we get the chance, we will try to reduce the gap to the leaders a bit.”

Source: Red Bull Rallye

Interviews with Kimi Räikkönen in Jordan Rally by Dave

Source: YouTube @ Lunnap99

Raikkonen set for more points, says team chief

Kimi Raikkonen’s team boss believes the ex-Formula One star’s points’ finish on the Jordan Rally will be the first of many in this year’s World Rally Championship.

Raikkonen finished eighth on the gravel event last weekend in his Red Bull-backed Citroen C4 WRC. He is now 11th in the drivers’ standings, one place behind Super 2000 World Rally Championship pacesetter Xevi Pons.

Benoit Nogier, who runs the Citroen Junior Team, said: “I am very happy for Kimi to finish with this result. He drove very well on this rally and getting the car to the finish in one piece was very important. The fact he scored points was the cherry on the cake and I believe this will be the first of many occasions when he is in the points this season.”

Source: MaxRally
Courtesy: TaniaS

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Kimi Räikkönen

Blog three: Wednesday 7 April.

"Looking back on it now, I think I would have been quite surprised if somebody had told me before the season that the first drivers' points I would score would come in Jordan. Of all the rallies I did so far it was the most difficult, but still I ended up with four points for finishing eighth.

Rallying seems to be one of these sports where the more you learn, the less you know. What I mean is that just when you think you have one problem solved, you realise how much further you have to go.

But actually, this is exactly how I imagined it would be. I never expected to come in and be straight into the front, just as I wouldn't expect somebody like Sebastien Loeb to come into Formula One and be straight at the front. Most drivers are naturally impatient - you want everything, now. But when you start something from the beginning, you have to control that impulse.

I'm actually enjoying the process of learning all over again; it's like my early days in Formula One. It's not that Formula One got boring for me, but you get very used to something if you do it for long enough, and rallying has given me a great change of scene at a time when I needed it.

As for the future...who knows? I'm not even thinking about it. At some point in the year, maybe halfway through it, I'll have to start thinking about what to do next, but until then there's no point in worrying about it. Let's just say that for the moment I'm very happy doing what I'm doing. Rallying has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid, and now I get the chance to live my dream. How many people can say that? Motor sport is so pressured and commercial all the time, that it's easy to forget the reason why you started to do it in the first place; because it's the most fun you can have. This year is all about that for me.

I have a bit of time off now before the Rally of Turkey, which I think should be a slightly more straightforward event for us than Jordan. From what I hear the surfaces there should be more consistent, which will help me a lot, although the temperatures are going to be the same - or maybe even hotter. Although I sweat quite a lot that's never really bothered me: I mostly don't notice it. This ice man doesn't melt..."

Source: WRC - Pirelli

WRC RALLY JORDAN 2010 KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Source: YouTube @ KIMIRAIKKONEN.COM

Kimi Jordan Rally Review: The toughest race of my career

If I would be an icehockey star, I would say that finishing the Jordan rally in points felt like getting rid of a monkey away from my shoulder. O’boy, it gave a great feeling for me. For sure, it was the toughest race of my life. We managed to finish it and it was perfect to get the first points of the season at the same time.

My friend Teemu Selanne has sometimes told me, how special feeling it is to score a goal after some games without getting any. Now I know, how it must feel for him. To get everything right in the Jordan rally, gave us a big relief. While you try and try your very best and you finally succeed, obviously, you’ll be happy.

Me and Kaj Lindstrom, my co-driver, shared the same great feeling on Saturday after finishing the rally without any mistakes of our own. That was the first waypoint we had to achieve before setting any other targets.

It was very hot place, indeed. But it was quite surprising that it didn’t feel that bad inside the car. Actually, it felt even a little bit ‘cool’.

It was the toughest rally I ever done and we drove the longest special stage I ever had before – 41,5 km twice. That was so long, I started to think, if it’s an ever lasting oroad. But finishing it finally, gave the best of the feelings. In the end of the day, it was a great stage, no doubt of it!

It was a difficult rally, but we eventually achieved our objective. It was great job from all the team. I’m feeling more and more comfortable in the Citroen C4 WRC every day.

This is not a solitary sport. We have been working hard with Kaj Lindstrom and without him I would never have learned this rally racing as quickly as we did. Kaj is working flat out. I’m grateful for him and I hope we share the good moments like in Jordan as soon as possible again.

The whole team was happy. The team bosses were all smiles. Personally I felt good the get a better feeling with the car on the gravel.

Obviously, I’m looking forward for the next rally of Turkey. It’s exciting to see how we go in the next rally in Instanbul.

Now it’s time for a short break and rest. Then it’s back to business. After some work out in the gym we go next week to Turkey and start there again from zero.

Source: kimiraikkonen.com

Räikkönen's car was vandalized

According to Sportti.com Kimi Räikkönen's car was stoned during Jordan Rally.

Kimi Räikkönen is loved in Finland but the star driver is apparently not as popular in Jordan. According to Sportti.com Räikkönen and his co-driver Kaj Lindström were stoned when they were moving away from a super stage finish during the last day of the rally.

It was done by little boys, and what's most important, the windshield of the car remained intact. The Finnish duo did anyway report the vandalism to a police patrol.

Source: Iltalehti.fi
Courtesy: Dracaena

Kimi Räikkönen Interview After The Jordan Rally 2010

Source: YouTube

RÄIKKÖNEN MADE FINNISH MOTORSPORT HISTORY!

Kimi Räikkönen wrote his name in the historybooks after his 8th position in Jordan Rally.

On saturday Räikkönen became the first Finnish racer who has scored championship-points in both WRC and F1.

The value of his performance is highlighted by the fact that no other foreign racer has been able to achieve the same except Carlos Reutemann from Argentina in the beginning of the 80's.

Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole

Jordan Rally 2010: SS21 Baptism Site 2

Times:

1.S. OGIER 5:25.8
2.S. LOEB 5:27.4 +1.6
3.D. SORDO 5:28.1 +0.7
4.J. LATVALA 5:28.5 +0.4
5.P. SOLBERG 5:30.4 +1.9
6.M. HIRVONEN 5:31.9 +1.5
7.N. AL-ATTIYAH 5:41.3 +9.4
8.M. WILSON 5:41.9 +0.6
9.H. SOLBERG 5:42.7 +0.8
10.K. RAIKKÖNEN 5:44.2 +1.5
11.F. VILLAGRA5:48.6 +4.4

Source: WRC

Jordan Rally 2010: SS20 Shuna 2

Times:

1.J. LATVALA 12:00.6
2.M. HIRVONEN 12:04.3 +3.7
3.S. LOEB 12:04.4 +0.1
4. D. SORDO 12:07.7 +3.3
5.P. SOLBERG 12:08.5 +0.8
6. S. OGIER 12:14.2 +5.7
7.H. SOLBERG 12:16.7 +2.5
8.M. WILSON 12:35.4+18.7
9.F. VILLAGRA 12:41.7 +6.3
10.N. AL-ATTIYAH12:42.8 +1.1
11.K. RAIKKÖNEN 12:46.0 +3.2

Source: WRC

Jordan Rally 2010: SS19 Bahath 2

Times:

1.S. LOEB 9:17.0
2.J. LATVALA 9:19.4 +2.4
3.D. SORDO 9:21.3 +1.9
4.P. SOLBERG 9:21.5 +0.2
5.M. HIRVONEN 9:25.8 +4.3
6.S. OGIER 9:26.8 +1.0
7.H. SOLBERG 9:28.9 +2.1
8.M. WILSON 9:37.7 +8.8
9. F. VILLAGRA 9:50.3 +12.6
10.K. RAIKKÖNEN 9:53.0 +2.7

Source: WRC

Jordan Rally 2010: SS18 Yakrut 2

Times:

1.J. LATVALA - 8:21.1
2.S. LOEB - 8:22.8
3.P. SOLBERG - 8:24.4
4.D. SORDO - 8:27.7
5.M. HIRVONEN - 8:30.9
6.S. OGIER - 8:34.3
7.M. WILSON - 8:50.0
8.K. RAIKKONEN -8:55.5
9.F. VILLAGRA - 8:56.9
10.H. SOLBERG - 8:57.1

Source: WRC

WRC Jordan Rally 2010: Big spin for Kimi Räikkönen SS10

Source: YouTube

Jordan Rally stage guides - Saturday

Saturday's final day of the Jordan Rally takes competitors north of the Dead Sea base.

After restarting at 0730hrs, they face two identical loops of four stages, split by a 30-minute midday service, before returning to the Dead Sea for the final service at 1440hrs.

The finish ceremony on the shores of the Dead Sea takes place at 1530hrs after another 105.50km of competition.

Here are our wrc.com stage notes for Saturday's stages. Under the summaries you'll find our list of essential website links to help you follow the rally via our live results service.

SS14/SS18: Yakrut. 14.16km
Run in the reverse direction to 2008, when it was called Mai'n, this stage provides some of the rally’s most spectacular views and is popular with spectators thanks to its location close to the main highway. The stage runs through small Bedouin settlements at 13km which provide a great local flavour. Most of Yakrut is fast, wide and open with a hard road surface. The second half is particularly fast; the road flows well but there are a few crests and blind bends along the way. There's a tarmac section at the 9.5km point, but the surface is generally hard-packed gravel, covered with a fine dust. This combination means the road will clean a lot.

SS15/SS19: Bahath. 12.53km
Almost all of this section was included in the Erak Alamir stage from 2008. However this time it's run in the opposite direction. It’s a tricky test because the character of the route is so varied that it's impossible to settle into a comfortable driving rhythm. It starts with a really steep downhill section on a thick coating of gravel - with so much loose material on the road it's hard to judge braking points here. After a bridge crossing the road climbs up a hill and becomes very twisty and technical. The twisty nature remains for most of the route, but the surface is constantly changing. At five kilometres it switches to a hard-packed base with a dusting of fine gravel, and later on there are sections of broken asphalt and some evil-looking pot holes to contend with.

SS16/SS20: Shuna. 15.23km
About half of this stage will have been run earlier in the rally so it will be interesting to see if the surface starts to get torn up. Shuna starts tight and twisty then heads down into a gorge. At the bottom, at 1.2km, the road runs over a steeply angled concrete culvert. Then there's a short steep uphill section with some tight back-to-back hairpins and hair-raising drop offs. From 1.8km to 3.3km the road gets faster as it runs along a ridge line then goes downhill - steeply in places - with lots of hairpins and s-bends to the 6.8km point. For the next 3km the road gets faster. It's still twisty but not as tight and it flows a bit better. Between 9.2km and 13.6km the road is up and down like a rollercoaster. There are lots of blind crests and massive drops on the left of the road. It runs along a ridgeline for the last 2km. Generally the route flows fairly well but is tight and technical in places.

SS17/21: Baptism Site - 10.83km
The start is close to the location where Jesus Christ was baptised in the Jordan River. Again, the stage runs through the lowest point on earth and finishes a stone’s throw from the Dead Sea. The stage was run earlier in the event - although in the opposite direction - as Suwayma. It remains to be seen how much the road surface will deteriorate - if at all. The opening 4km are very fast on a combination of gravel and broken asphalt, then there's a complex of tight corners from 3.8km to 4.2km. There's a very fast short asphalt strip a couple of kilometres later. From there to the 11km mark it's very fast. There's not much gravel and the hard packed surface is almost like asphalt, the corners flow well, with minimal crests. There's a watersplash 3km before the finish, then it's a short dash to the line up a fast and twisty road.

Source: WRC

WRC Pirelli driver blog - Kimi Räikkönen

Blog two: Friday 2 April.

"I don’t want to say anything that might bring me bad luck on the final day, but it’s actually gone quite well for us so far in Jordan. I wasn’t feeling any particular pressure before the rally - there’s no point - but the main thing was to get experience and now this is coming.

There’s still a long way to go as we have the final day left, and that’s sure to be another big challenge with some tough stages and hot weather. But I’m used to warm temperatures in Formula One, so that’s not a problem. Somebody actually pointed out to me earlier that it was the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend; I hadn’t even realised until it was mentioned.

The way I see it is that for now I’m a rally driver so I’m not thinking about the past or the future, even though people keep asking me. Obviously at some point I need to take a decision about what I do next, but that won’t be until the second half of the year at the earliest. Everything is possible, but I need to know how I will get on in rallying before I take any decisions. For now I have only just started and so far I am really enjoying myself.

The thing that has surprised me most about Jordan is how much the stages change from the first run in the morning to the second run in the afternoon. It’s almost like two different rallies because there is a lot more grip the second time. But also I find that I have a lot more confidence during the second run, because I have seen the roads before.

It just goes to show how important experience is in rallying. I knew it from the start: we were never going to win overnight so we are roughly where I thought we would be. Luckily we’ve not made any big mistakes here so far - just a couple of spins and an overshoot - and that means we are steadily able to build up the experience we need.

Having said that, it’s still very tricky for me. I’ve got a whole new style of driving to learn and a completely different way to set up the car, as well as finding out how to get the best out of the pace notes. There’s a lot of information to soak up in not much time. But I suppose if it were easy, everyone would do it..."

Source: WRC - Pirelli